This is a recount of "Rumble Seat's (Paul Garrigan) 2003 Trip across America in His 34 Ford Roadster. Paul lives in or near Denver Co. and in 2003 it was an "East Coast Swing". Rumble Seat intended to meet-up with as many people from the MSN Site as possible.
As you read this hear the pipes, feel the wind and be envious as Hell.

Hi. The weather here is finally looking a mite better..... and the roadster is ready...... and the flathead has a definite burble of anticipation in the twice pipes.

Checked and adjusted everything I could think of on the old mill. Even gave it a flush job before it got a load of fresh 40wt Valvoline. The Columbia rear end got flushed before it got filled with new EP 90wt. I even have the passenger side tonneau snapped down (looks like an old lakes roadster). Double checked my emergency spare parts and have them all packed them away in any corner I could find. Even the rumble seat is jammed full except for just enough space for my canvas clothing bag with "T" shirts and Levis.

Guess I'm finally ready to head out. I'll head south and east from Denver through Kansas and start calling those I'll be near. Sorry I don't have time to write each one of you, but I'm just out of time. Please don't give up on me. I'll post where I am from time to time on some of the guys computers if they'll let me. Should be in Georgia/Florida sometime about Monday, May 26. I've got about 10 stops to meet guys before then, so I may be running a day or so late... especially if I have to dodge tornados etc..

Hope to meet as many of you guys as possible on this 6 to 8 week run.........rumble seat

(Quick Recap)

Hi. Sorry I haven't posted, but something was going on in my computer and it wouldn't let me post. Then today, it decided to work again. Just like a flathead...... sometimes it'll heal itself.

GREAT TRIP. A "quick" recap... was gone 5 weeks to the day. Covered a total of 10,400 miles. Was in 22 states and Washington DC. Ran into considerable rain. I'd only had the roadster top up a total of 6 times in the past 5 years, but sure made up for it on this trip. It was up about a third of the time. Only car problem I had was a broken starter Bendix spring in Kent, Ohio. Had stopped to meet Dan Babarich (oilcan) when it broke. I had been having problem starting it on 6V and was using 12v full time. The Optima 6V battery accidentally got deep cycled while the roadster was being painted. This made it too weak to start the hopped up mill. Had no luck locating a new Optima 6V on the trip, so started it on 12V. As you all know, the 12V really slams the starter in hard and is hard on Bendix springs. The rest of the 6V system worked good except for starting. Didn't take much time to fix the problem and it was fun working on it with another FH lover. Other than that, I didn't have any problem. The engine now has about 81,000 miles since I glued it together. It began using oil during the first stages of the trip and is using more than I like now. It doesn't smoke, but it's time for rebuild. Gas mileage was 20-21 mpg on the road, but the mileage dropped quickly in traffic. If I managed to stay out of traffic jams, it would still get about 17 mpg, so was pretty happy about that. The engine requires premium. Most of the time I drove about 65 mph..... although it did get in the 100 mph range a couple of times (got to play a little). Average daily expenses for food, lodging, gas, oil, and misc. expenses was slightly over $150.

Left Denver and went to Key West, Florida. Then up the coast with frequent inland trips to meet up with guys on this forum or see old friends. Essentially it was the same scenario as when I went up the West coast a few years back. Crossed into Connecticut on my way to Nova Scotia. Rained hard all day. Got things dried out in the motel that night. Woke up to hear it still pouring rain. Weather forecast called for heavy rain with flooding in the low lying areas for the next 5 days. Temperatures were forecast to be in the 50's.... which is cool in a roadster with no side curtains and in pouring rain. Decided I'd had enough rain and didn't need anymore. So I turned for home. I had taken about a week longer getting to Conn. than I had planned. Mostly due to bad weather, but a lot of it because I'm so long winded and spent too much time gabbing to the guys along the way. The trip up through Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick (Canada), Quebec (Canada), Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont would have been about an additional 2500 miles and taken over a week. Sure would have liked to have done it, though. And my medications were running really low. If I had continued, I'd had to get prescriptions filled. And out of state, that would have been a nightmare. Poor planning on my part. I should have taken 2 weeks more medication with me.

Met lots of super guys and got to see some of their flatheads and rods. Many have cars under construction. I really enjoyed talking to each and every one of you. Thanks for making a once in-a-lifetime trip so interesting.

Got in late Friday afternoon (June 20). Spent Saturday emptying and drying out the car. The carpet in the rumble seat and front was soaked almost the entire trip. One night with a fan running dried it completely...... a bonus of Denver's low humidity. Got things put away and organized. Sunday was spent cleaning the car. Monday I picked up some new insulation for the front. I was getting some engine heat due to holes in the existing insulation, so will put it in this week. Stopped by Jim Nielsen and got an 6V Optima battery. He had one in stock. Most places get $120+ for one, but he charges $90. Discovered these batteries are manufactured in a suburb of Denver called Aurora! Surprise!
Getting long winded. I'll write about some of the interesting things that happened later on this week............... rumble seat

(The Trip)

PART ONE. Wednesday, May 14. Local forecasts for weather towards the southeast from Denver was looking a lot better. I had wanted to leave a couple of weeks earlier, but we had a tad bit of snow..... like 37" on the level in my driveway! No way to start a trip in a roadster. Besides, I may be nuts, but I'm not insane! So I had postponed leaving. Decided Saturday, May 17, would be the day. I was ready and anxious to get on the road.

I had wanted to make this run up the East coast for several years. I had planned on doing this a few years back. Then my pancreas went to hell in a hand basket and laid me up for 13 months. This, coupled with a surprise from Medicare concerning payment for intravenous feeding, seemed to doom this from ever happening. But after much discussion, Medicare changed their minds. So hasty plans were made and I began preparations of the flathead powered '34 roadster for the projected 11,000-12,000 mile run.

Initial plans were to go to Key West, Florida. Then up the east coast to either Boston or St. John (in New Brunswick, Canada) and catch a ferry to Nova Scotia. Then north through Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and across New Brunswick. Then southwesterly through Quebec (Canada), Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and then turn westerly from there. The Nova Scotia part would add about 2200 miles or so to the run. I planned on meeting as many guys from the flathead forum as possible along the way. I wanted to meet them, talk flatheads, and see their projects and cars. This would take considerably organization and zig-zagging back and forth in several states. As we all know, plans have a way of changing.

Late Friday afternoon on May 16, the roadster was ready and loaded except for the usual last minute things. Every corner and cranny was loaded with tools, spare parts, and luggage. Spare parts included a pair of water pumps, new 6V voltage regulator, generator brushes, stock fuel pump, stock crap style distributor with cap and rotor and two condensers, Bendix starter spring, Bendix starter drive with another spare spring, Champion H-10 plugs, two gallons of distilled water (drink or ????), a can of BG radiator stop leak, and two quarts of 40w oil. Additionally I carried my usual spare parts for the Mallory dual point distributor.... two Mallory 6V coils, points, 4 condensers, cap, and 3 rotors. Miscellaneous items included the usual array of tools, a Volt-Ohm meter, two fire extinguishers, flashlight, and a Uni-Syn. Oh yeah, I always have a first aid kit (I'm a klutz of sorts). Combined with my old Navy blanket I use to direct heat from the heater, a heavy sweat shirt, a hooded jacket, ear muffs, and a fleece lined denim shirt, the roadster was loaded. Least it was sitting lower in the back than I had ever seen it. The only thing I forgot was large plastic trash bags......... something I would soon regret.

Saturday. Gave up trying to sleep about 4 AM. No way could I sleep. Got up and loaded last minute things... like all my medications and drinking water in a cooler, camera, spare film, spare glasses, and my shaving kit. I was ready as I ever would be.
Said my good byes to my wife and touched the garage door opener. The pre-dawn temperature was cool, so put on my winter Denver Roadster jacket and gloves. They would feel good running topless in the early morning chill. Hit the starter button on the 6V side. It cranked over about two turns and fired. As I fed the choke in, the exhaust note sweetened. It sounded as anxious as I was.... or so I thought. Dumb how I often feel cars are part human. I fastened the seat belt as I checked out the oil pressure gauge. It showed 70 psi at a fast idle. I let the 40w oil circulate before I backed out of the garage and headed out on my final run. How sweet it is!!! By the time I drove the mile and a half to the freeway, the two head temperature gauges were at their normal 150 degree mark. When it's cool, the 160 degree thermostats don't reach their operating temperature. I turned on the heater and felt the heat on my legs and feet. Felt good. When I was on the freeway approach ramp, I let the 286" flathead wind out through second gear before I dumped in the Columbia overdrive. The speedometer indicated 55-60 mph while in Denver....... I sure didn't need to start this with a citation for "Above and beyond the call of the speed limit". Once out of Denver, I tried to keep it on 65 mph. It kept creeping up to the 75-80 mph range. I would back off to 65 only to find it would soon be back to 75-80. Acted like it wanted to hurry and get down to sea level to feel the increase in hp. I like to run it around 60 mph for the most part. I don't get blown out of the car. Besides, it probably upsets a radar cop when a hot rod is at, or under, the speed limit.

Ran on I-79 until I got to Limon, CO. A ritual I had started about 20 years ago on runs was to always stop at the big truck stop there and have biscuits and gravy. Did so. Lots of stares at the roadster while I was inside scarfing breakfast. Was too anxious to get back on the blacktop to have extra cups of coffee.

Cranked up the mill and headed down a two lane road to Kit Carson, CO. Then to Dodge City, KS. Great roadster weather. Stopped for the night before I got to Wichita, KS. Pretty uneventful day. Two lane roads are a lot slower than the interstates, but I prefer them because of all the towns I get to pass through. And all the farm/ranch "yard art" along the way..... not to mention the bone yards (wrecking yards). Lots of neat stuff. I'm always amazed at the number of cars in them from the thirties, forties, and fifties.

Sunday I met jmarlett in Wichita, KS. Jim is the director of the zoo. We met for breakfast before going to his place in my heap where he showed me his under construction dragster. Naturally, it'll be flathead powered. Then he took me on a short tour through the zoo. Lots of unusual animals and birds. Then I headed east on some more two lane roads. The roadster seemed ready and eager for the open road, but then it always seems that way (like me?).

That night I stayed in Pittsburg, KS. It's located in the SE corner of the state. Kansaskeith lives in Cherokee which is only a few miles from Pittsburg. I had met Keith and his wife Deanne last year on the way to the Falcon Nats. Super nice people. Keith has gone back to work, so we could only meet for breakfast on Monday. Deanne couldn't make it. Too bad. Enjoyed seeing Keith again. He's extremely talented.... does it all... paint, upholstery, and even repairs his clocks and tube radios!

Headed northeasterly towards Sullivan, MO. Used two lane roads until I was well east of Springfield, MO. Picked up I-44 and stayed on it's bumpiness until I got to Sullivan. I had stopped several times along the way to call Arrowsmith. Each time the phone was busy. Tried several times in Sullivan. Same result. I burned some time washing off the daily accumulation of kamikaze bugs. Finally gave up trying to reach him by phone and went in a truck stop to grab a late lunch. It was the same place I had met Arrowsmith last year. They had barely brought my food when he walked in. Seems his son spotted my heap when they passed by and told him to look at the old car. He said he knew it was mine the minute he saw it. Told him I'd been trying to call him, but his phone was always busy. He said he'd noticed the computer was still on from when he'd used it earlier that day. We visited about an hour before I left and headed towards St. Louis, MO................ rumble seat

PART TWO. Before I left Sullivan, MO on Monday afternoon, I had phoned Bill K in St. Louis, MO. His e-mail said he worked at home. No answer. Took a chance and headed toward St. Louis on I-44. Along the way I stopped twice and phoned. No answer. Drove to NW St. Louis to St. Ann. Called again. Still no answer. This was about 5:30 so I left a message that I had went on.

Crossed the Mississippi river and headed southeasterly on two lane state roads. Neat drive. Even managed to find a farm road and played on the narrow crooked road. Couldn't make time, but the drive was super even if I did get into a sprinkle of rain. Stopped in Red Bud, IL for the night.

Up early the next day and got on the asphalt ribbon. Had a quick breakfast at a McDonalds (they're fast at least). It started sprinkling rain. Not enough to bother with, so left the top down. Got into KY. Drove south and then easterly on county roads. Pretty country and fun driving in the light sprinkle. I had the tonneau on so only I was getting wet. It covers the seat compartment with a zip-out piece for the driver. The rain down south is warm, so I wasn't cold in the least. Rain in CO will make you cold since it's about the temperature of ice water!

Got to the Kentucky Lakes. This is a huge man-made lake which is in two states. Better than half of it is in TN. It's kind of a river I guess because it has several dams due to the changes in elevation. There are locks to elevate/lower ships at each dam location. It is very deep. Big Jim, an old Navy friend, lives on its shore in TN. I had met him in TX and we hit it off right away. He was tending bar in the Chiefs Club in Kingsville, TX and I was playing the piano. We got to be good friends and I make it point to see him every year. We raced flathead stock cars in TX while in the Navy. Later we raced them in Denver. He now lives on the shores of this huge lake. He's got a "T" roadster with aluminum heads on a 350 Chev engine. It really hauls. He'd broken his leg a few weeks before and was laid up. I dropped in to see him and his wife Pam. Pam had reservations to bowl in the Nationals in Vegas and caught a plane early Wednesday. Now Big Jim is 6'8" tall! When he gets in the "T", there is a LOT of him hanging out and over. His right leg was in a cast, so any rod activity was out. But we did manage to get him, and his cast, stuffed in his Power-Stroke Ford car hauler (seen in the back window of a Ford diesel pickup.... "Why Ram it, when you can Stroke it?") and drove to my favorite catfish restaurant. We always go there for dinner every day I'm there. Super good. Spent that night, Wednesday, and Wednesday night with him. Good time. Left early Thursday morning in the topless roadster to get to Franklin TN and meet up with Flatiron about noon or so. Franklin is south of Nashville. Ed said to call him when I got there and he'd meet me since he had to work....... rumble seat

PART THREE. Weather was hot and dry. Missed a turn at Dickson, TN that would have kept me on two lane roads clear into Nashville. So I jumped on I-40. This was Thursday, May 22. Traffic on the interstate was it's usual loud roar, but was moving well. I came up behind 4 semi's in a convoy. I caught them at 65 mph. The old flathead was feeling good when I pulled out to pass. No traffic ahead of me for quite a ways in the hammer lane. You guessed it.......play time! I shifted out of overdrive (2.64:1 gear) and back to direct drive (3.78:1). This puts the engine rpm at about 2900 rpm. I stood on it and the flathead started winding out. There is nothing like the sound of a flathead at speed! At 85 (about 3800 rpm), I shifted up into overdrive and got back on it. The speedo needle swept past the last numbers (90 mph) on the stock '34 speedometer. Just before the needle pointed straight down, I passed the lead semi. I interpolated the speed to be about 105+ mph. The flathead still had a few rpms left, but I backed off. I sure didn't need to crater or hurt the engine so far from home.

I pulled into Franklin, TN about 12:30 and called Flatiron. Ed said he was just finishing a meeting and would meet me at the Waffle House in Franklin by 1:30. I tried to reach Monroe in Tullahoma, TN to get something setup for later in the day. No answer. So I downed a second breakfast (my favorite meal) while waiting for Ed. He got there early and we had coffee while we got acquainted. He had brought along pic's of his '32 pickup hi-boy. Looks like a "hauler" (pun) for sure. He's having a lot of fun with it and will probably put on the fenders and running boards when he can find the time. We discussed flatheads for awhile. It was getting late and I needed to get to Tullahoma TN before I quit for the day.

Headed south to Tullahoma, .TN. Got a motel and tried calling Monroe. Finally reached him at 6:50 PM. He lives about 12 miles from the motel and he knew I was pretty shot and said he'd drive to town to meet me. Much appreciated. He drove his '47 maroon Convertible to the motel. NICE car. Other than duals, air conditioning, and 12V, it's stock. The air conditioner looks like it was installed by the factory. Super neat brackets and installation. He let me drive it. Very nice driving. Not a thing wrong anywhere as far as I could tell. Then we went for a drive in my heap. When we got back to the motel, his son was there in his chopped '34 three window. Full fendered and a done car. Too bad it has a 3 carb Chevy, but it's the way to go if you're going to drive long distances. They run cooler and you can get parts along the way (you'll need them?) a lot easier than you can for a flathead. I had to call it quits since I was pretty tired out.

Next morning I headed south to meet rocnroll in Tuscumbia, AL. Weather was hot and dry. Chad had driven over to the National Falcon show in Nashville last year. We had spent a large part of the day viewing the Falcons and talking about his project. He's building a flathead powered off-road Jeep. I was anxious to see him again and to see his project. Met Chad about noon. He parked his car and rode with me to the Sonic drive-in where we had a sandwich. He insisted on buying. (Seems Billy, in LaVerne, CA, had sent him some parts. He told Chad there wasn't any charge, but he had to buy rumble seat a lunch. Hell, if I'd known about this before I had ordered, I would have ordered all of page two on the menu! Thanks Billy.) Then we drove out to see his project. It's coming along nicely. It's on the ground with all the running gear in it. Nice tidy flathead installation. The body is nearly done. Hopes to get it done soon so he can return to Colorado and do some rock crawling (his thing). We took the roadster over to his friend, Larry, and I got to see his collection. Quit a few cars. A '36 roadster with a 331" OHV Cad, '36 Cabriolet with an OHV Chev, '29 pickup with an 8CM flathead, '27 "T" tub with a flathead (extended frame). All of these are on the road and Larry says he drives them frequently. It was getting late and I cranked the flathead to life and continued heading south to visit an old friend in AL. He's an old member of the Denver Timing Association (same as me). We went to high school and were best budd's. Never did figure out why he left CO and move to AL.... go figure! It would be good to see Ron and Joyce Smith again..... rumble seat

PART FOUR. Some good two lane roads as I traveled southeast. The next morning, Saturday, I skirted Birmingham and picked up the I-20 frontage road to Moody, AL. It was late morning when I called Ron in Moody to get directions to his house. He was waiting with the garage door open and motioned me inside. Good to see him and Joyce again. Ron retired from GM. He's always been a Chevy man since I met him in '48. We've always ragged each other over the years. He ended up working for GM as some kind of regional rep for the performance Chevs. Good job. He retired a few years back. Recently he went back to work..... for Chrysler! Shocked me! Seems to like it though. Joyce had a bad bout with the "Big C" awhile back. She says she's over it and doing fine. Joyce fixed us lunch and we dawdled over it talking about old times etc. They wanted to go for a ride, so I emptied out half of the rumble seat and Joyce got in it. Drove through the town and out in the country. Pretty scenery. The weather was a perfect roadster day.... cloudy and warm. She wanted to drive the old heap, so she drove it back to their place. It was mid-afternoon when I started loading up the rod. They wanted me to spend the night, but I declined. Joyce didn't need the stress and extra work a guest brings. Would have like to have spend more time with them though.

On the road again. The weather was good and the two lane roads were good. So I ran later than usual. I no longer run long hours. I'm geezer age and, combined with my recent illness, I get pretty tired by mid-afternoon. Also, finding a motel late in the day often presents problems. Got into Phoenix, AL (near Columbus, GA) early evening. Washed the roadster and got a good night's sleep.

Sunday, May 25. Crossed over into GA and ran two lane roads through Americus towards Fitzgerald. Ran into heavy rain. Found a car wash to shelter me while I put the top up. It was pouring pretty hard. A problem I have on my roadster is the windshield wiper. It's vacuum and works really good........ as long as the top is down! When the top is up, the front of the top extends forward over the windshield frame. It comes to rest on the wiper arm shaft. This keeps the wiper from working. Definitely not one of Ford's Better Ideas. So I have a choice... leave the top down and have a wiper..... or put the top up and have no wiper. Been that way as long as I've owned the car, but it doesn't bother me much since I usually just leave the top down when it rains. With no side curtains, I get soaked whether the top is up or down anyway. But I discovered something when I put the top up this time. If I raise the driver corner of the top about 1/8" before I tighten the top's wing nut hold down, the wiper will work! Great news. But this creates another problem..... the resultant gap between the top and the top of the windshield frame funnels water into the car. Oh well, nothing is perfect in these old cars. Doesn't really matter since rain comes in between the windshield and frame, in the windowless doors, around the wing windows, and between the cowl and the bottom of the windshield frame. I figure the inside of the windshield gets wetter than the outside! One solution would be to run a wiper on the inside..... or sell the car. And don't forget passing trucks and cars......... they splash pretty good at times! Oh yeah I almost forgot, the canvas top material gets soaked quickly. This means every time you hit a bump, or the wind snaps the top, a fine mist of rain settles down over the inside of the car. Neat thing about all the rain pouring in, you stay busy wiping up a constant flow of water which runs over the top of the dash and onto you. Every time I get in a heavy rain, I always have to laugh (I must be sick)..... I'm the one that wanted a roadster and to be out in the rain. Dumb! Got into Fitzgerald and found a motel. Unloaded a damp roadster and found a car wash. Washed the mung off and vacuumed water out of the front and rumble seat carpets as best I could.

Called JWL to see if he could meet me for breakfast the next morning, Monday. John lives near Fitzgerald. He and his wife, Judy, brought his '40 standard sedan to meet me. Then I followed him to his place. His '40 sounded strong and is a super car. He's got a huge shop. About every thing a person could need to build cars. Even has his own dyno. Really into the dyno and has various different heads and intake manifolds laying around. He's a firm believer in stock heads... claiming they breath better than after-market heads. Toured his place for a couple of hours and then I got under way late morning. I was anxious to see Don Garlit's Drag Museum in Ocala, FL. Drove two lanes road south to Lake City, FL. Then I got on I-75 since it was a straight shot to Ocala. Traffic was increasing considerably, but it would get a lot worse before it got better...... rumble seat.

PART FIVE. Tuesday, May 27. Stopped in a breakfast diner in Gainesville, FL for breakfast. Thought they could help me with directions to Garlits' museum. None of the three teenager waitresses had ever heard of Don Garlits or his museum! But they did provide me three phone books of the area. Took me 30 minutes to locate it using the phone books. JWL had told me there were signs along the highway, but I didn't know which highway he was talking about. He probably said I-75, but it didn't penetrate this sludge thickened old mind. Gainesville is about 30 miles north of Ocala. I-75 ran directly by it. It was early so I elected to drive two lane roads. Picked up a side road running parallel to I-75. Passed through High Springs and spied a fifties type diner. It was quite busy. But what caught my eye was a maroon '34 Terraplane cabriolet parked on the grassy area out front. The top was down too. Stopped and backed up on the shoulder. Nice original car. Got my camera and took some pics of it. One shot has my roadster in it too. Pretty neat seeing these two old timers together. There was a lot of similarity between them. Several people crossed the grass to check out my '34. I was there answering questions for about 30 minutes.

As I neared Garlits' museum south of Ocala, there were several billboards with the exit number and directions. No way could I have missed them. Looking through the phone books had been a waste of time. Oh well.

There are two museum buildings besides his home and shops. One houses drag racers and the other collector and antique cars. I was getting my entrance ticket when I saw The Man looking at my roadster. Went back out and we talked for a few minutes. He was interested more in the engine than anything else. Opened the hood. He immediately noticed the current ballast on the firewall. He'd never seen one. Explained it was made by Echlin and replaced the stock resistor on the firewall to prevent burning up coils and points. Around the top it says "CURRENT BALLAST". CB-1. For Ford V-8. All 6V models. Echlin Mfg. Co. Use no.1116 bulb." It also says "Mount under dash in place of resistence unit." Pretty cool old time item. Least he must have thought so too since he asked if I was interested in selling it to add to his collection. Told him no. It's as old timey as my roadster. He had to leave for a car function. He's not as tall as I remembered him from back in the fifties. Went back into the museum. I asked the counter woman if she'd check with the guys in their shop and see if they knew where I could get an Optima 6V battery.

Went into the drag building. What a museum. I usually don't spend much more than an hour in car museums. Not the case here. Too much to see. Not only were there most of his Swamp Rat dragsters, but there were a lot of other famous drag cars. Very impressive. Went to the other museum. Lots of eye candy there too. Lots and lots of memorabilia. Quite a few very low mileage original cars. One caught my eye.... a '40 convert with a Columbia Overdrive. Nothing unusual about this except it had a factory tachometer with shift points for engaging the overdrive! I'd never seen one. The woman in charge said the Columbia and tachometer came with the car directly from the factory. Got a pic or two after she permitted me to drop the rope and open the door. Very nice people throughout. Lots of semi-famous cars from Don's past too. I'm sure most of you guys have been through it, so won't go on.

On the way out, the counter woman (Don's wife?) said she had called the Optima distributor about a 6V battery. He didn't have one in stock, but could have one delivered in about 7-8 days. I declined ordering it. Adding in motel and eating costs for 7 days would have made it nearly $1000! I had been in the museums for nearly 5 hours! Some kind of record for me, but I could have easily spent another 4 hours.

Hot and dry. Headed down I-75 through Tampa and into Sarasota to meet LHead8. It was afternoon when I called Gillette and told him what motel I was in. He soon drove up in his original '33-5 window. He'd finally acquired it after bird-dogging it for a lot of years. His dream come true. Has original interior and paint. The red spoke wheels and whitewalls set it off. Followed him to his home and met Barbara, his wife. Very nice lady and interested in his hobby. I won't tell you about his door handle..... ask him, not me. We were there about a half hour when a couple of his best buds pulled up. Mike was driving a '34 pickup with a 350/350/9" setup. Nice pick-em-up. Dale drove his '32 hi-boy roadster. It had a 302Ford/C-4/9" combo. Super car. Seems he was leaving the next day for the LA Roadster show. Says he goes every year. That's an impressive distance in an open wheeled car.... especially considering the very wet spring this year. After kicking tires for a spell, I said I had to eat. We all drove our rods to a place they frequent. Kind of a mini-cruise and car show. Ate a sandwich on the sidewalk part of the place and talked cars for quite a while. It was soon well past bedtime for this old codger. Gillette said he'd meet me for breakfast. Got directions and followed Dale back to the motel. Good thing... I'd still be trying to find it.

Next morning, Wednesday, I met Gillette for breakfast. I had called Butch11443 on Tuesday to set up a meet in Englewood the next day. He had a doctor's appointment Wednesday morning and couldn't meet me. Gillette called him later. Seems the appointment was in Sarasota! So he drove his '31 pickup with a dual 94 carb 8BA from Englewood and met us at the Sun Rise Cafe. Nice pickup with solid construction. The three of us had breakfast and talked. Nice visit. Gillette is going to have a super car when he's done. An original '33- 5 window.... pretty rare find today.

Headed south on state highway 41. Map shows this as "other multi-lane highway". What a zoo... too many long (over 4 minutes) traffic lights and too many of them (about every eighth mile). Stuck it out while I watched the flathead temperature gauge climb. I was heading down to the Everglades........ rumble seat

PART SIX: Wednesday, May 28. Heading south of Sarasota on highway 41. Finally broke out of traffic. Day was hot and dry. Roadster pipes were doing their thing as the old mill purred along. Roadsters.... a great way to travel. Heading to the Everglades. If I pick up the I-75 toll road, I'm on the alligator alley road. If I go about 19 miles further south on highway 41, I'll be on the north edge of the Everglades National Park. I've talked to people who know the area and they've said to take highway 41. It's basically a two lane road with less traffic. Then just west of Miami I'll turn south to Homestead for the night. Good afternoon drive and beautiful scenery. Road is rough in spots, but not bad. Cruising along about 55 mph and enjoying things. Watching the edges for alligators. I probably saw some sunning themselves, but was going a little fast to be certain. However, I did see several snakes and unusual birds along the way. Clouds gathered and things cooled down to about 85 or so. Naturally the top was down on the roadster when the rain came up quickly. And rain it was. Very intense. Rain pouring inside the open roadster. I was soaked, as was the inside of the car, almost at once. Kept going. No need in stopping..... no place to get out of the rain anyway. Ah, the fun of driving a roadster! The downpour intensified. I started watching for passing arks. Then the squall got so bad I had to slow to 40 mph. Of course the single stock wiper was on..... for all the good it did. The inside of the windshield was wetter than the outside I think. I was soaked through and through. Lots of fun I thought to myself. The other cars passing me probably died laughing at this old fool and his antique hot rod. Oh well. After about 20 minutes, it stopped as suddenly as it started. The sun came out and I was dry in about 20 minutes. Too bad the roadster wasn't. Got into Homestead which is north of the Keys and is the last large city before the Keys. Got a motel and emptied the roadster at the car wash. The rumble seat floor had about 2-1/2" of good old rainwater standing in the floor depression. The rain must come in through the top well since everything else is pretty water proof. The rain comes in through the openings in the door and is funneled directly into this well. The well is not sealed to the back of the seat and water pours through this opening into the rumble seat area. Result is a flooded rumble seat. Oh well..... we all knew rumble seat was all wet! Vacuumed up the water and finished washing the roadster. This proved to be a complete waste of time. The luggage was soaked, so I spread it around the motel room to dry. Then I drove across the street and ate at a restaurant. Drove back to the motel and put on the tonneau. I have a tonneau cover for the front seat. It snaps across the dash cowl and on the doors and at the rear of the well for the top. It basically seals the entire front part of the roadster from rain. It has a zippered section around the driver's side which I can remove to drive it and still leave the passenger side covered. It's pretty neat. I use the tonneau every night on the road since it keeps the interior a lot drier than a car cover. And it's a lot easier to put on and remove. So the roadster was tucked in for the night. I was anxious to drive down the Keys the next day.

I woke up early Thursday to hear the unmistakable sound of heavy rain! It was barely daylight and raining like I've never seen. Caught the local weather forecast. Supposed to continue into the night and clear up early Friday. Great. Got dressed and made a dash for the restaurant across the street. Made it without drowning in the almost flooded street. Had a very leisurely breakfast. It let up a little and I made it back to the motel. Stopped at the desk and told them I'd be staying another day. No problem.

Spent the day drying things in the motel dryer. Did personal laundry and dried it. Sure seems like I always have a lot of dirty laundry when I'm on the road. Went through about $10 worth of quarters in their washer and dryer. Ever wonder what the economy would do if we ran out of quarters? Purchased some trash bags at the motel desk. These would be used to put my luggage in and keep things dry. Spent the afternoon clicking the TV and dozing.... and looking out the window at the rain. The tube said we'd gotten 5" of rain since early Thursday morning. Oakland Park, which is about 40 miles north of Homestead, had an official reading of 7"!

Next morning I woke up to cloudy skies and no rain. Got things packed and in the plastic trash bags. Went out to the roadster. It looked like a drowned ski-boat. Dried it off and folded up the drivers side of the tonneau. Loaded my luggage in the rumble seat area and headed south to the Keys on highway 1.

Super day. It cleared off and got fairly hot. A nice change from the day before. The road down the Keys is basically a two lane road. Most is posted 45 mph. Yeah, on a good day. Mostly the heavy traffic keeps the speeds down to about 35 mph or so. And lots of traffic signals along the entire length. Both sides of the road are commercialized. It's about 120 miles from Homestead to Key West. I had thought it would be a series of really long bridges, but it wasn't. Got a couple of pretty good pictures along the way. Took a pic at Key Largo. Made it to the tip of Keys at Key West. There is a concrete cone there. It says it's the southern most tip of the US. There were about 65 people or so taking pictures of it. I walked back to my heap and pulled it directly in front of it. I got out and said a little loudly. "I hope you'll pardon me. But I want to get a picture of my car in front of it. I'll hurry as fast as I can."

I took two pic's and headed back to the car to move it out of the other people's way. A guy standing there asked if I minded him taking a picture of it. I said no and also said I didn't mind if he or his wife sat in it and had their picture taken. You guessed it. Before I left, about 40 people had their picture taken in the old boat! Made me feel like the car was pretty special. They were all very nice about it and were super careful getting in and out.

Then I headed back up the Keys to Homestead. At Homestead I elected to stay on highway 1 until I got through Ft. Lauderdale. Dumb decision. In Miami I got in the biggest traffic jam I'd ever seen. Highway 1 goes through the main part of town. It was Friday afternoon which made it worse. I was stuck in city traffic which crept along in low gear for the better part of 3 hours! Air temperature was 90 degrees according to the banks I crept past. I was burning up. And the hopped-up flathead didn't like it either. The temp got clear up to 205+. Pulled into a gas station and got gas as well as making a much needed pit stop. Had two cold drinks while the engine cooled down. The attendant said the traffic jam always cleared up about two miles north of where I was. At the speed I had been moving, it would be Christmas before I got that far. After about a half hour break, I got back in the snail race. Sure enough, I eventually made the two miles and traffic started moving. The flathead temp had crept back up to 195 degrees, but it cooled down to a nice 175- 180 degrees before long. And then I ran into rain again. Stopped and put the top up in a car wash. The rain didn't amount to much and I was probably overly-cautious when I put it up.

Made camp in a motel for the night. Called Aron in Palm Bay, FL that night. He had to work 8-5 the next day (Saturday). I was sorry I couldn't wait around to see him. Apologized and left heading north to my next stop.... Roanoke, VA. I didn't have anyone to stop and see in GA, SC, or NC. A change for sure. I wanted to get to Roanoke in a day or so.

There's a lot of race tracks etc. along the way and I decided to make detours to see as many as possible. Most were closed, but a few had their memorabilia shops open. Picked up a few goodies for the guys back home. Stopped by; Darlington in NC, Rockingham in SC, and Greensboro in SC. Lots of history in these places. Pulled into Roanoke, VA on Memorial Day which was Sunday, June 1. Called FRDTRK and set up meet for the following morning. James lives in the suburb of Roanoke..... rumble seat

PART SEVEN. Monday, June 2. Followed the instructions FRDTRKS50S had given me. James had said to take Orange Ave. exit off I-581. Easy to find his home. James is retired after burning his leg severely in a biking accident. He has three F-1 pickups. Two are very sound and will make good drivers. He's not interested in making any of them show quality. Plans are to make them drivers. I had to pick up some 40wt oil since stations don't usually carry it. When I had first built the 59 series engine, consumption was a quart every 1800-2000 miles on the road. It now has 80,000+ miles on this build. Oil consumption is now a quart every 700 miles or so. I run 5 quarts without an oil filter (one quart over the full mark on the dipstick) which probably increases oil consumption. The 286" engine has 3 ring solid skirt racing pistons with increased clearances. I usually use Vavoline 40wt, but have been using Castrol or Quaker State on this trip due to availability. James and I went to an Auto Zone and picked up some oil. On the way home, we stopped and ate lunch and talked. Back at his house, he asked if I could stick around so his grandson could see my car. His grandson was still in school. After he'd seen the car, I cranked it up and got on the road again (good name for a song!).

Pointed the '34 towards Washington, D.C. using I-81 and I-66. I wanted to get to McLean, VA (west of D.C.) to meet Rod Mason. Traffic is very heavy on the eastern part of the US. Much more so than I'm used to. Driving a two lane road is very slow due to the heavy volume of traffic and the frequency of long traffic signals. The only way to get anywhere in a reasonable length of time is to use the freeways. But get off them before 3 PM or face loooooooong traffic jams. Took me a few days to learn this. Nothing worse than trying to find a motel or phone in rush hour traffic or in a jam. Called Rod on Monday evening. He's retired. We met just before lunch in Vienna the following day, Tuesday. Vienna is near McLean. Rod has a very nice blue '33 sedan. He had the 5 speed transmission out. After a time, I got underway again.

Tuesday night, I called rdbwoody. Richard lives in Ellicott City. This is a western suburb of Baltimore, MD. It was raining pretty good on the highway to meet him on Wednesday. Got soaked again. Practically a daily occurrence. Guess this is one of the wettest springs on record for the east coast. The rain stopped as I approached Ellicott City. We went to his place to check out his '35 fordor slantback. Black and was taken off the street for some changes. He's installing a 9", a 5 speed trans, and Vega steering. His 8BA will run 3 carbs. He has intentions of building a wilder engine after recovering from the impact of the current changes. Very solid and straight with very good paint. Got a motel east of Baltimore, MD and called it a day. It was fairly early, but this old body was beat and needed rest. I was quite close to Federalsburg, MD.

That evening, I called NOTPIT500 and set up meet for Thursday at the local McDonalds in Federalsburg. Met Matt and his father. Matt is into roundy-round in a '55 Chev with an OHV, but he has quite a collection of flathead stuff. One of his current projects is stuffing a 337" Lincoln flathead into a pickup chassis and body. He prefers the bigger Lincolns under the old adage "There's no substitute for cubic inches." (Well, maybe cubic bucks might be a substitute.) He has about a dozen flatheads. Most are 8BA type. He has several frames with running gear and some good pickup sheet metal.

Left Matt mid-morning and crossed the state of DE. Got on I-95 just east of Wilmington, DE. This soon changes to the New Jersey turnpike. I decided on the turnpike to by-pass Philadelphia, PA and the traffic. I stayed on the toll road until north of East Brunswick, NJ. East Brunswick is just east of New York City. Then I traveled various divided highways etc. until I found highway 24. This took me to Rockaway, NJ where FLATDOG lives. Getting to Rockaway, NJ from Federalsburg, MD took two days of driving. Oh yeah, NJ seems to have a pretty firm grip on bad roads. It's like they have no idea how to make a smooth transition from asphalt to concrete on bridges etc. This also applies to frost heaves and cracks. Their concrete freeways and interstates are a joke in my book. Amazing, but they're not the only state that has these problems. Sure tough on these old cars with buggy springs.

I had called FLATDOG and said I'd be in late Thursday. Told him I'd call when I got into town. Rained all morning on the lousy roads.... like what's new! Called him and he gave me directions to his transmission shop. Easy to find. Pulled into his parking lot to see his '34 five window coupe with full fenders and boards. No hood or side panels. Super rod. Runs a 9" rear end with a C-4 transmission. Which makes sense since his shop builds automatics. Don's present flathead engine has a BIG stroker. An 8BA that's bored to 3-5/16" with a whopping 4-3/8" stroke (isn't that about 301"?)! Running a roller cam with 3-twos. But the wildest thing is the header system he's built. Looks like it was patterned after limp spaghetti! Don swears it makes a lot of hp. I sure wouldn't have the patience or skill to design and/or build them. We stood around and talked flatheads. Don is a real gear head. He seems to live for his coupe and the quarter mile. He's always trying a different combination to get a little more out of his '34. He took me for a ride. He has his own "test strip"..... a dead end street with no traffic. He left-braked it while he brought up the r's. Then he launched it. Talk about torque! Felt like an old B-gasser to this old geezer. Instinctively I raised my feet and legs..... a habit from the old days when clutches/transmissions might explode during a severe launch. The coupe really hauled. Lots of r's too. VERY impressive. Says he's knocking on the 14 second door and hoped to open it the next drag night. Wouldn't surprise me if he did. No slicks, nitrous, or blower. And he must weigh a good 220 lbs or so (just guessing). The all steel coupe ran very smooth on the street and in traffic despite it's wild cam. Probably a lot of it due to the automatic transmission.

Back at the shop, I asked if I could get on his computer and check the forum. While I was on the computer, Bruce Lancaster (sp) and his pretty lady drove in. Bruce is a member of this forum. Very interesting person and well-read. Don said he's head of a library. His lady friend is fully supportive of his hobby. Nice when a gear head's woman enjoys his car hobby. Bruce just acquired an original '32 roadster a day or so before! This makes him a proud owner of two '32 roadsters! Envy, envy, envy! We had a nice visit until well after shop closing time. Bruce and his lady had driven over a hundred miles to meet up with me. It was very much appreciated Bruce.

Told Don I'd best be finding a motel and get ready to head out the next day. Nothing doing. He insisted I spend the night at his place. So I followed him out to his house. Super place and shop. Has a couple of mild customs in his well equipped garage. He insisted on parking his rod outside so mine would be inside. Met his beautiful wife, Karen, and his son Zack. Zack is building several interesting electronic gizmos. We went to an Italian place for dinner. Super meal. We stayed up until nearly midnight talking.

Up early the next day. Don and I went out for breakfast before I left for the beckoning road again. Don, thanks to both you and Karen for being so nice to this old fool with an itchy throttle foot. Headed to Dresher, PA to meet up with a forum lurker by the name of Bob Carlson and his forty...... rumble seat

PS. This will be my last entry until I get back from Falcon Nats in Dallas. Should be back Tuesday, July 22.......... rumble seat

PART SEVEN AND A HALF. Sorry about this omission. I typed PART EIGHT on the forum when I got back from Falcon Nats. Hit enter and assumed it took. It didn't. I didn't notice it until yesterday afternoon. Lately, I've been having trouble with things getting deleted on the forum. Guess I'm too wordy. Anyway, the screen says ---- 'Timed out due to inactivity'. Then it deletes everything I've typed! So it erased the original part 8. I didn't realize it and wrote the next part and called it part 8, too! It took. Probably because it was so short. So now, I'll re-enter what was deleted and call it PART SEVEN AND A HALF. Thankfully, I had a hard copy of what was deleted, so all I have to do is re-type it. Groan.

PART SEVEN AND A HALF. Left flatdog racing in NJ Friday morning. This was the last forum member I'd see until after an extended side trip through Nova Scotia. Cut across the southern part of NY and into Danbury CN. Started raining pretty hard early in the day and never really let up. Had the top up and did the towel wiping thing most of the day. I was beyond Hartford, CN when I called it quits for the day. Still raining. Checked into a motel and unloaded the luggage from the rumble seat. Showered to warm up and put on some dry clothes. The Denver Roadster winter jacket was soaked clear through, including the leather sleeves. Hung it over a chair in front of the air conditioner/heater while I went to eat. Still raining. After eating I returned to the motel and put the top down and buttoned down the tonneau for the night. With it on, no water gets into the driving compartment of the roadster. Pretty neat.

Sat in the motel and roughly planned a route. I'd run I-84 into MA (Massachusetts) and pickup I-95. Then across the southeast tip of NH and into ME (Maine). There's a ferry from Bar Harbor, ME to Nova Scotia. I've taken it before and it's a good 6 hour trip. The time I had taken it before was during the fall. Reservations had to be made nearly two months ahead. Probably their busiest time of the year because of the fall colors and the ferry is completely booked each day. Anyway, I didn't want to take the chance on not getting on the ferry run. Instead, I planned on going into New Brunswick, Canada to St. Johns. There's a ferry from there to Nova Scotia. It's about an hour trip. Then I'd tour Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island before crossing back onto the mainland. Then go northwest across New Brunswick and into Quebec, Canada. Then turn south across Quebec and New Brunswick to Maine. It would be quite a trip. Estimated it was about 2500 miles and would take a week of pretty steady driving.

The evening weather report called for continued rain. My jacket was dry by morning, but the weather wasn't. I woke up about 4 AM. It was still raining as hard as when I went to bed.

Clicked on the TV to the weather channel. Forecast towards, and for, Nova Scotia for the next 5 days was heavy rain with low level flooding. Can you believe I was tired of rain? And I sure wasn't looking forward to rowing the '34 through constant rain and flooding. I checked my medications. Sure tough to plan an extended trip when they won't give you prescription drugs for more than about a month. Can you imagine the problem to get prescriptions filled on the road and have them bill Medicare! Shudder. Anyway, I didn't have enough to make both the Nova Scotia loop and see forum members on the way home. I had to make a choice. Even if I made the Nova Scotia loop I'd have to run long days to make it home before I ran out of meds (as it was, I made it home with meds for one meal!). The weather forecast, if I turned towards home, was only slightly drier. Finally decided the sensible thing was to call it quits and turn towards home. Besides, I didn't have any need to go up through Nova Scotia. I just like the people and the scenery in Canada. No big deal if I didn't do it. I'd been sure I had more than enough meds when I left home, but I was seeing more a lot more forum members than I had originally planned on. And the rain was slowing me down some. I figured I had cost me about 4 to 5 days delay. So I packed things up and loaded up the soggy roadster. Put the top up in the moderate rain. Got out 5 towels to swab up water and fired the flathead. This was about 5:30 AM Monday morning. My next stop would be Dresher, PA to see Bob Carlson. It was quite a distance away. Retraced my steps back across CN, NY, and into PA. In and out of rain most of the way. As usual, rain poured in the roadster. Lots of fun trying to read a soaked road Atlas. Sigh! Most of the days, I called it quits early afternoon to dry out the car as best I could. I still put everything inside plastic trash bags to keep things reasonably dry. Worked pretty well except for trapping the high humidity. So everything felt damp and soggy---- rumble seat
Now, onto Part 8

PART EIGHT. I tried to reach Bob Carlson in Dresher, PA on Saturday. No luck. Tried again Sunday morning, but didn't get an answer to any of my calls. He didn't have a recorder and I couldn't leave a message I was going on. Probably out of town for the weekend. Too bad I couldn't have arranged meeting the flathead forum guys before I had left home. Just too many miles and uncertain roads and weather to do it.
I had called Buddy Dridge (in Blue Point, NY) Thursday evening. This is located on the south edge of Long Island. I sure wasn't looking forward to clutching through NY City on Friday traffic. I'd seen enough heavy traffic to last me. And my beefed up clutch isn't fun in stop and go traffic. Anyway, Buddy said he had to work all day Friday, but would come and meet me west of NY City on Saturday. Told him I'd call back Friday. I called him Friday morning and left a message I was going on. I didn't want to spend a whole day and night waiting. I am sorry I didn't get to see his 8BA powered '37 coupe.

Turned and headed to West Chester, PA to hook up with Dan Rappucci. This required some back tracking to the west side of Philadelphia, but back tracking is necessary at times during a run like this. Great weather. Sun was out all day. Called it quits early in the day and had some much needed rest. Called Dan to arrange a meeting on Sunday. Seems he had to take his son and several friends to the beach on Sunday, but would be home later in the day. This is a yearly thing for the group.

On the road mid morning. Rain.... again. Put the top up just before it turned into a heavy downpour. Rain finally stopped and I pulled into West Chester about noon. As usual, I had no idea where I was. Took the second exit and found a large shopping center right off the exit. Amazing! I was really early, but it was lunch time. Found a pizza place in the shopping center and ate lunch. Still way too early. Cruised around the shopping center. Found a barber shop. I was looking scruffier than usual, so burned some time and had a much needed haircut. On the edge of the shopping center was a car wash! I couldn't believe the string of luck in finding everything in one place. Usually, I have to drive 10 miles to find a single place or phone. Washed the roadster and put the top down. The rumble seat was under water from the heavy downpour, so I emptied it and vacuumed out Big Lake (maybe I should stock it?) . It had about 2-1/2" of water. Found a pay phone. This always takes some doing since these are quickly becoming relics of the past. Everyone has cell phones now. I called Dan's home. Denise, his wife answered. Don would be home soon and she said I was to come to their home and wait for him. Works for me. She said she'd drive to the shopping center and lead me to their place. Good thing, since I don't think I'd have ever found it.

Denise soon arrived and I followed her to their home. She insisted I park inside the garage in her space. At this rate, the roadster would become spoiled! We sat and drank coffee and talked. Bob Rappucci, Dan's brother, came by. He's an ex-body man and went over the roadster with a fine tooth comb. Soon Dan pulled in. They insisted I spend the night and keep the roadster in the garage next to his street rod. His red '40 tudor is running an 8BA with heads and carbs (94's). It has a 5 speed trans which has a super sano installation. The car is very clean and cherry. He's done many innovative things to his street rod. We spent the evening in the garage talking flatheads. Friendly people... which is typical flatheaders in my book. My rumble seat carpet was soaked and we emptied the compartment and put a box fan it to dry it out. It ran all night. Next morning, it was still soaking wet! Seems the humidity was too high to dry anything using straight air (maybe I should have torched it!). One thing about the humidity.... the old flathead felt like it was getting water vapor injection all the time I was in the NE! Stowed everything back in the roadster and followed him to get breakfast. If I hadn't followed him, I'd still be driving around the woods looking for a way out. He wanted to drive his street rod a ways with me, but had a meeting he couldn't miss. More talk during breakfast. Then I hit the road. This was Monday morning, June 7.......... rumble seat

PART NINE. The next stop was to meet vonhotchie in Maxatowny, PA. As usual, I was to call him when I got to town. This was Monday. Now Maxatowny is very small town about 40 miles west of Allentown, PA. (It's in the southeasterly part of PA.) How small it is? There wasn't a single outdoor pay phone in town! I retraced my steps about two miles to a gas station. Stan soon drove up. I followed him to his house to see his '46 tan sedan. It's a very solid car with a stock flathead (for the time being). He had it on the road for a time, but it's currently down for some improvements. The body is very cherry as is all the stainless trim. It's going to make a great cruiser. We went for a drive in the roadster before I headed out to meet 4tl8ford in Erie, PA.

Erie is located in northwestern PA on the shores of Lake Erie….. or diagonally across the state from Maxatowny. I ran two lane roads all day in dry and cloudy weather. Ideal roadster weather. It was neither hot nor cold…. just right. Anyone that's driven topless knows what I mean. The flathead mill always sounds like it enjoys these days. And it's twice pipes rumble was pure music to these old ears. Even the singing of the radials on the concrete sections sounded good. Must be getting pretty deaf to enjoy that kind of racket. Pulled into Erie early afternoon on Tuesday and got a motel. After cleaning the roadster of kamikaze bugs and road mung, I called Dick to see if he was available. Seems I was only a few blocks from his house and he soon pulled up at the motel. We left his ride at the motel and we took the roadster to get something to eat and get acquainted. Went to a fifties diner. Pretty cool place. Had a late lunch and talked. Then he directed me to Presque State Park. This is on a thumb strip of land that juts out into Lake Erie. Neat park. We drove most of the way around it taking in the sights. Dick kept up a running commentary along the way. It was "Very interesting" (as they used to say on Laugh In). When we passed by the fifties diner on the way back, there was a flathead powered "T" roadster in the parking lot. Whipped a U-turn and pulled up next to it just as the owners came out. We chatted for a few minutes about the rods before they left. His "T" was pretty sharp. Sorry to say, I didn't record his name.
Then Dick and I stopped to retrieve his wheels before going to his house. Met Darlene, his attractive wife, and checked out his two projects. One is a '46 coupe that is pretty rough. It can be saved, but will take quite a bit of doing. His '50 panel is another story. Pretty sound with all the trim pieces and sheet metal in exceptionally good shape. His plans include a big bore and stroker engine with goodies inside and out. Darlene is 100% behind him and is very interested in old cars. She must not have much taste when it comes to old cars because she liked my old beater. I offered to take her for a ride. She jumped at the chance and we drove around the neighborhood. She's a super lady….. typical of most wives of the flatheaders I've had the pleasure of meeting.

Next morning, Wednesday, I got on I-80 that runs parallel to Lake Erie. Took it into OH to meet Paul in Chesterland, OH. Chesterland is east of Cleveland, OH and is a small rural community. The weather was cloudy and threatening. Paul gave me directions to his place in the country. Easy to find. Met his charming wife Sandy. Paul has quite a complete machine shop. Wish I did. His son used to be a machinist and they both do a lot of machine work for the rods. Very well equipped shop with lots of garage space and storage area behind for future projects (envy set in). Sandy brought coffee out to the garage while we talked. His '23 "T" roadster is finished and has been on the road for a few years. It runs an 8BA with a C-4 and an 8" rear end. The mill has finned aluminum heads and a 450cfm Holley 4 barrel carb. He's currently running 3.40:1 gears in the rear end. Paul is in the midst of building a '39 tudor standard. It's virtually a rust free car. He and his son have really done a number on the sheet metal and chassis. They've made many parts for the body and chassis…… including a super sanitary center bar for the grill. Great workmanship. The tudor body is prepped and ready for final painting. Then reassembly. He's putting an 8BA in it. I was amazed to find the east coast flatheaders seem to prefer the 8BA engines. Whereas the west coast guys run about equal number of 59AB and 8BA engines. Odd. The skies were getting darker and I opted to leave and head south. Paul fired his roadster and we ran together about 20 miles before he turned back for home. I wondered if he got wet since I got into rain shortly after we parted.

I had called oilcan in Kent, OH while at Paul's place. We had set up a meet for that afternoon. I was to call him when I got into Kent. Kent is due south of Chesterland and is a short run. The directions he gave me were super easy…. almost. Dan said he lived in the second house on the left. It was little confusing since there was a commercial type enterprise on the corner and I didn't know if he counted it as a house. Parked the roadster at the curb across the street from what I assumed was Dan's house. Rang the door bell. It was the right house. He told me to pull my heap into the driveway that led to his garage in the back. Okay, no problem….. well almost none.

Got into the roadster and hit the 12V side of the starter. Yeah, right. Nothing but a whir of a motor spinning about a zillion rpms. Broken Bendix starter spring. Just one of the hazards of using 12V on the 6V starters. No problem since I carry a spare. Except the roadster was too close to the vertical curb and I couldn't get under it. Dan helped me push it backwards enough to fire it when I dropped the clutch. It'd been years since I had to get in a suicide door while it was rolling backwards. Sufficient to say I'm not nearly as nimble as I used to be!

Pulled it into Dan's driveway outside his detached garage. Got out my tools and spare spring. Dan couldn't believe all the tools and parts I carried. He took some pic's and said he was going to post them on the forum. Couldn't get the starter under the wishbone because of the 4" dropped axle and tire rake. As you may remember, I don't carry a jack Borrowed one from Dan and soon had the starter off. Took it into Dan's garage and replaced the spring. As I was putting the starter back on the roadster, it started sprinkling. Finished and reloaded all my junk.
This was the only car related problem I had on the entire trip except for losing two upholstery screws in NJ due to some lousy roads. Not too bad for a flathead with 80,000+ miles that was built by a dumb old geezer.

Checked out Dan's project. A '46 coupe that he wants to restore to be a daily driver. Good shape. He works on it nearly every day now that he's retired. Took the roadster to lunch and to pick up some 40wt oil at the local Auto Zone. Then back to Dan's. I had tried to call Petejoe in Canton, OH Tuesday night. Didn't get any answer. Used Dan's phone and tried again. Rick still didn't answer. Called a couple of times with no contact. Left a message saying I was sorry I missed him and I was pressing on. Left Dan's house and took a southeasterly bearing to meet Dave in Richmond, OH in the light rain………. rumble seat

PART TEN. Turned southeast and took two lane roads to meet Dave in Richmond, OH. Rained the remainder of Tuesday, June 10. Wednesday I drove in moderate rain and ran more two lane roads. Neat drive even if it was raining. I had called Dave Tuesday night and set up a mid-morning meeting on Thursday. Richmond is a small town near the east border of OH. Rained most of the day Wednesday and was still sprinkling Thursday morning. Called Dave at the only pay phone in town and got directions to his place. One thing about small towns…. everything is only a few blocks away. Dave and his family were in the front yard next to his black '36 cabriolet when I rolled in. Cabriolet was the name for cars with retractable tops with door windows. I think it was '38 when they got their named changed to convertible. Nice rust free '36 with a lot of original Ford accessories. Mostly original except for some newer updates like a two brush generator and juice brakes. The original boiler motor has been replaced with a 59AB engine and has dual Stromberg 48 carbs on a regular intake manifold. Dave's plans are to do a full tear down in the near future since it's an old build and is showing it's age and neglect. Had coffee with them and kidded his wife and daughter a lot. Super nice people. Didn't hang around long due to the threatening gray skies. Next stop was in the center of OH near Columbus.

Tuesday evening I called both Dale Hays and Jim Leis. They both live about 2 hours south of Columbus, but would drive to Columbus. Something came up at the last minute and Dale couldn't make it, but Jim showed up in his chopped sano blue '49 Merc custom with a blown flathead. It has skirts, side pipes, louvers, is lowered, and a custom grill. Super neat tail lights and rear end treatment. The white interior is immaculate too. Engine is an 8CM bored 0.080", Isky 400 Jr. cam, Offy 425 heads, Mallory dual point, and Joe Abbin blower making 5 psi of boost. Impressive to say the least. He had a couple of riders…. Mac and Jim. We met at a restaurant/service center near the intersection of I-270 and I-71. If I remember correctly, this was originally the Quaker State distributor for the area, but was converted to a restaurant/service center years before by the owner. Easily enough memorabilia to keep me busy for a whole day. And super food. I understand they have regular cruises to the place. Had a long lunch and talked flathead stuff. Outside, after a goodly amount of tire kicking we parted and I got back on the road.

Since I was passing by (?) Goshen, IN I decided I look up a couple of good friends, Bob and Marge. I met them at a Falcon National several years ago and have stayed in touch. Goshen is located near the north border of IN just south of Elkhart, IN. Friday afternoon, June 13. I was running on two lane roads and enjoying the small towns and "yard art" in the ranches and farms I passed. The skies started getting dark…. real dark. Stopped and put up the top. Kept getting darker and the temperature dropped. Knew I was in for a storm and soon. The clouds looked like ones I associate with twisters and severe weather. Made me more than a little nervous since I've been on the fringes of two twisters many years ago. Stopped and got out my winter weight Denver Roadster jacket. It felt good in the cool air. Figured I'd stop in the next major town for the night and get everything buttoned down before the storm hit. Yeah… right! Like that was ever going to happen on this run!

Saw a wall of solid rain coming across the fields to my right. I nailed the gas and ran hard into the next town. It was a small town. I watched for a car wash or service station with an awning over their pumps to shelter me from the impending storm. No such luck. Then the rain and wind hit with a vengeance. I've never seen any rain so intense in my life. It dumped rain like someone pulled the main drain plug in the sky. Had to stop on the shoulder of the road because I couldn't see the road…. only wave after wave of rain. I never saw a vehicle on the road all the time I waited out the storm. Nothing was running. The driving rain came from my right and blew in the right side door opening. It had such force it went straight through the car and out the driver's side door opening. Since I was in the middle of this driving rain I got to absorb lots of it and was wet in seconds. The heavy Roadster jacket, with its leather sleeves, was soaked clear through almost instantly. The top kept out the rain for a few minutes before the water soaked through. It was almost like I was sitting underneath a waterfall!! Fun, fun, fun. The carpet had standing water since it couldn't drain out the doors fast enough. I found out later even the billfold in my right hip pocket was soaked completely through! But the thing which was amazing was how hard it was raining and blowing…… I couldn't even see the radiator cap! And a '34 hood is pretty short. I tried to drape a towel over the door openings to deflect some of the rain, but the driving rain blew it down as fast as I could hang one from the top rails. The storm maintained this intensity for over 40 minutes before it let up.

All this time I had kept the engine running to keep the distributor and coil dry. And to circulate hot water through the heater. Then the engine picked up a miss…. and then another. Fantastic (not exactly the word I used), just what I needed….. a drowned distributor in a rain storm. I'd never get it dry. The crown of the two lane road was a good 4" higher than the edges of the road for drainage. Both shoulders of the road were about 18" above the fields. The rain came down so hard the center line of the road was submerged under about 4-5" of rain! And the fields were overflowing onto the shoulders before it began to let up! The water was lapping at my right side tires. The downpour let up slightly so I could see…..almost. A good omen and I attempted to get underway while I had the chance. The missing engine didn't like it, but it managed to stay running on 6 cylinders while I drove in first gear…. trying to dry the distributor. Took about a half hour before things dried out and I could shift into second or high. Finally the rain stopped completely and I resumed running 65 mph. That didn't last long. Ran into TWO more of these rain storms within the next few hours. They were n't quite as intense and only lasted about 10 minutes each. Finally the rain stopped and blue skies returned.

Found a motel and pulled in for the night. My tennis shoes had taken on water and I squished as I walked across the lobby. It took all night for them to dry. I unloaded the rumble seat completely because the floor depressions were under water again. Looked like a couple of portable ponds. Hung things around the motel room and went to a car wash to use a vacuum cleaner on the twin lakes in the floor of the rumble seat. Emptied out my soaked bill fold and laid everything near the heat/air conditioner. Everything for the billfold, except for the leather, was dry by morning. The leather was still slightly damp. Before I went to bed that night, I checked my feet for webbing between the toes. I had been in so much rain the past couple of weeks, I was sure I had grown some.

Next morning I continued to Goshen. Pulled in Bob's place mid morning. As usual, Bob was wound tight when I pulled up. He really gets off on cars. He's got a black '65 Falcon convertible and a green mist '66 Falcon station wagon. Both have taken numerous first places in national competition. Marge gave me a tour of her yard and gardens. They were in Denver a few years ago on vacation. Marge and my wife, Pauline, took to one another right away. They're both into flowers big time (more so than I'm into flatheads!). Bob's next project is a '67 Fairlane. After a pleasant lunch, Bob and I went cruising in the roadster after putting the top down. Sunny day and the sun felt good after so much rain. Stuck around until early afternoon before leaving. I'd see them at the Falcon Nats in Dallas, TX in early July.

Next stop would be to meet V8 Bob in Granger, IN. Granger is west of Elkhart, IN and is a short run from Goshen. Called Bob on Saturday, June 14. He was out of town, but would be home late that night. Left message I'd call him the next morning. Something I noticed on this trip that was funny to me. Many times I would call and ask for the man by his name. His wife, or family member, would ask who was calling. When I gave my name, often I could hear the man in the background saying to take a message and he'd return my call. Each time I would then ask the person who answered the phone to tell him "rumble seat's calling". Several times I actually heard rapid footsteps coming to the phone. So I got to the point of telling them "rumble seat" when asked who was calling. They usually stumbled over this and I would repeat it.

Called Bob, in Granger, early the next day. He came to the motel to guide me to his house. We hit it off from the git-go. Met his wife, but failed to record her name. Sorry about that. She's very supportive of his hobby and a very nice lady. Super home and area. But the best thing was his garage…. or would enormous cavern better describe it? Bet I could park 35 cars inside and still have a car path down the middle! He has a ramp type lift, a large paint booth, and has constructed an old timey gas station replica in one corner. He's divided one end of the garage off for his main work shop. This is where the lift is. He's fabricated an engine test stand that looks professional. It had a flathead ready for testing. His current project is a Brookville duece roadster that will run a flathead engine that's ready to go. It's a 3-3/8" X 4" (286") with 3 carbs and finned heads. I didn't record what else was inside. The chassis is completed for the most part and is a roller. The Brookville body is about ready for installation. Bob is a brake specialist, so it figures his ride will have 4 wheel disc brakes. He also has a '51 custom with a stock flathead that he uses for cruises nights. It's a cool ride. One thing that I thought was really neat was the "chrome spear" down each side. It resembles a Buick spear. This is paint, but looks like chrome. Super job whoever did the painting. Outside the work area in his huge parking area, is a '40 coupe…. with a 427" OHV! There's another one of these engines sitting in the corner. We gabbed awhile while he helped me change my oil and give it a quick grease job. If your ever in the area and need your flathead oil filter changed, look him up. He's got a unique way to empty the filter canister. Ask him tell you how he does it. Very educational. I really enjoyed the too-short time we spent together.

The next stop would be near Grand Junction, MI. I was getting exhausted and would take a day off to rest up….. rumble seat

PART ELEVEN: Grand Junction MI is about 60 miles due north of Granger, IN. BillB lives several miles east of Grand Junction. His place is pretty tough to find due to the lack of signs on the farm roads. However, I still had a detailed map from last year when I had swung by Bill's place on the way home from the Falcon Nats in Nashville TN (this is on the way to Denver from Nashville? I've got to learn to read road maps better.). I had met Bill on the forum a few years ago. We've become close friends over the years. Last year was the first time I met Bill, his wife Lue, and……… Sami.

Which brings up a funny story. Last year Lue, Bill, and I sat down in their kitchen to get acquainted. We were talking when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. It was a plastic ball about 8" in diameter slowly rolling across the kitchen floor. It had narrow slots in it similar to a plastic whiffle ball. I just figured a puff of wind had caused it to roll. Then it abruptly changed direction and rolled towards me. It bumped into my chair and then went off in a different direction! Strange. It rolled a short distance before bumping into a kitchen counter. Then it changed directions and rolled away again. I couldn't figure it out. Thought it was radio controlled and they were messing with my head….. and they were succeeding! As far as I could tell, neither of them had a remote control. After more of these antics I had to find out. Seems Lue has a pet exotic Dwarf Hamster named Sami. She keeps Sami inside the ball most of the time so he can exercise. Sami loves it and continually rolls all around the main floor. They have expanded fences to Sami proof the stairs etc. He even has outside deck privileges! Neat.

As always, Bill and Lue (and Sami?) were glad to see me. Like last year, they put me up for the night. Their place is about 35 miles from the nearest motel. Bill had made space for my rod in his garage. It was the first time he'd seen my "asphalt river conveyance". We unloaded the back of the rod and yakked. It was early evening before the three of us piled into the roadster (now that's being chummy) and drove somewhere (I have no idea where) to get pizza. It was some of the best pizza I've ever had. Bill said it was Chicago style pizza… whatever that is. All I know is it went down good with a glass of wine and a couple of beers. Then back to Bill's. Put the roadster in the garage and put a fan in the rumble seat area to dry it out over night…. like that's going to happen.

Next morning, Lue fixed a SUPER breakfast with coffee, pancakes, eggs, and sausage. Made a pig of myself. The maple syrup was fantastic. Lue said they got it locally from the Amish. Well worth the extra units of insulin I took to counter the sugar kick. Spent the day dinking around his '37 coupe and my heap. His '37 is nearly done and is one of the prettiest shades of metallic maroon I've seen. The body is perfect…. at least to these tired old eyes. He's got all the bugs worked out and only needs the door and kick panels done to complete the interior. As usual, the upholsterer is dragging his feet and not getting it done. Why is it body men, painters, and upholsterers all have problems keeping their time frame commitment? Seems like IF they get it done within two years of their promise date, it's on time to them. Bill's flathead is running finned aluminum heads, Mallory distributor, a four barrel, and a Max cam. Nice lumpy idle, exceptionally good mid-range, and makes good revs. It'll probably be the next cam that goes in my mill. He has disc brakes on the front and drums on the rear with no power assist. He's done a super job throughout the coupe. Absolutely rattle free and everything fits right. And it drives as nice as it looks. Nice job, Bill.

Fortyone lives just a few miles from Bill. Charlie passed us early that morning and honked. But since he wasn't in a flathead, I thought he was just honking to be friendly and I just waved. After lunch I called him. He said he'd be home. Bill and I drove the few miles to his place. Charlie has a '41 coupe body and two '41 frames which will be used to make one car. With the high humidity and the use of extensive road salt, all projects from this part of the US definitely have serious rust problems. His is no exception. He's started repairing the body and building a chassis. Boy, he has a lot more ambition than I do. He's recently picked up a '53 Merc overdrive transmission for it. He's got a couple '53 Ford pickups for parts. Both have steering boxes. These steering boxes are super to use in '32-'34 Fords because of they use a fore/aft pitman arm.and drag link. However, they need shimming since the '53 frame angles and the early frames don't. Many guys machine a plate and others simply stack flat washers to match the frame angle. A plate distributes stress over a larger area and is the way to go in my book. Got to meet his wife just as we were leaving. Another nice lady. She wants to get the '41 done so she can cruise in it. It'll be a while before this happens!

Back to Bills. Set the fan in the rumble seat for the night. Sipped wine and talked until midnight on their screened in patio. They have it screened in because of the industrial strength mosquitoes who will haul you off if you're outside after dark. I'm certain they can easily kick start a hopped up Harley. They'd probably haul you off to keep the big ones from taking you from them!

The next morning I repacked the roadster. The carpet was nearly dry after running a fan for two nights. Just too much humidity to get it completely dry was my guess. The night before I told Lue and Bill that I wanted to take them to breakfast. But Lue woke up with a migraine and begged off. Bill didn't. Good thing he led because I'd still be driving around the farm roads trying to find a main highway. Anyway, I followed him to some town where we had an excellent breakfast in a rustic café Bill frequents. The two day rest I'd had at Bill's had restored me more than I had hoped. This decrepit old body just doesn't have much stamina left in it. Probably a good thing this was my last run. After breakfast we bid goodbye. Next stop would be in Watseka, IL to see Mervin.

Watseka is due south of Chicago and only about 100 miles from Bill Bentley. Ran.two lane roads. Sun came out in a clear blue sky once I cleared an early morning rain squall in MI. The squall was just enough to get the roadster dirty. Put the top down after giving it a wash job at a car wash in some town I passed through. Felt good on these bones to be in the warm sun. I had told Melvin I'd be there sometime around noon. Went nearly all the way through the town before I found a pay phone. Called and told him where I was. He pulled up within minutes. Followed him to have lunch and talk. Afterwards we left his driver in the restaurant's lot and took the roadster to his business shop several blocks from his house. Lots of early memorabilia in the office part of the building. In the back of the good sized shop is an original '41 tan colored coupe. Didn't record the mileage, but it has to be about 20,000 mile to be in such mint condition. It's absolutely immaculate from one end to the other. His current project is a ground up restoration of a '50 convertible. He also has a '50 sedan sitting next to the '41 that's he's finished. He does everything himself and does super work. While we were there, Delbert, one of his best buds, came in. After Delbert retired he was bored and looking for something to do. So he restored a model "T" to original condition. We drove the few blocks to his garage to see it. When he found the "T", it was a basket case….. a big basket with a huge hole in the bottom to aid in losing a lot of parts. Delbert made new sheet metal to replace lost sections. He scrounged around finding engine, transmission, chassis pieces, etc. I could not detect anything that didn't look original. The neat thing is he drives it frequently….. just like Henry Ford intended all Fords be treated.

Went to Melvin's house and met his wife, Norma. Nice people. Melvin gave me tour of his shop in the rear of his property. Absolutely packed solid with goodies from top to bottom. Many still in their original boxes. He gave me a pair of starter springs that were still in an original box. Said he had read on the forum where I had cratered one on the run. The attic was the same way as the main floor…. packed solid. He has quite an accumulation of rare parts. Melvin enjoys repairing speedometers, instruments, and tube radios. He won't mess with transistor units. Had a super visit with he and his wife. They're typical of the couples I've met on this run….. people I wish I could have spent a lot more time with.
Fired up the flathead in the hot afternoon sun and headed towards Effingham, IL. This would be the last forum person I'd meet. I was getting dangerously close to running out of medications. A lot closer than I was comfortable with…..….. rumble seat

LAST RUN, PART 12 (last entry). Tuesday, June 17, 2003. Traveled west after leaving Watseka, IL to reach US 40. Turned south. The Tuesday afternoon sun was hot when in town, but was just right at speed. I cruised along at the speed limit enjoying all the farm and ranch "yard art" (relics) along the road. Just kind of kicked back and listened to the hum of my hopped up flathead mill and pipes. At dusk, I called it a day near Champaign, IL. Got a motel and washed the daily bug kill off the roadster. After dinner, I called blnflat49 and set up meet for late the following morning.

Wednesday morning I was close to Effingham when I saw a complex with a billboard advertising Mid-America Corvette Drive-in. A drive-in for Corvettes? This I had to see. The billboard advertised a 50th Anniversary Corvette Convention the coming weekend. It was a very large complex and was super nice. I slowed down to give it a lookey over. No 'vettes parked in the parking lots yet. Too early in the week for the convention people to begin arriving I guessed. However there were several 'vettes near, what appeared to be, the main building. Saw an old timey filling station near one of the other outer buildings. A pic of my rod in front of the station would be nice to have. Got on the juice binders and turned into an entrance. As I drove through the huge parking lot a couple of Mid-America trucks went by. And they didn't look too happy about a Ford being on their sacred turf. Parked in front of the filling station pump's and took a couple of quick pics. Decided to ruffle some feathers and drove around the complex on the way out. Slowed down as I approached the main building. Quite a few 'vettes parked there with about a dozen people standing around them. All were wearing (mandatory?) Corvette apparel. They sure glared as the old Ford relic crept by. But what twisted my crank was several women smiled and nodded as the flathead pipes mumbled by. 'Least they appreciated a good ride when they saw one! Loved it!

Pulled into Effingham, IL. Sandy and I were to meet at Bobber's Truck Stop at exit 160 on I-70. That should have been easy to locate.. Problem was there wasn't any Bobber's Truck Stop there. Quite a number of businesses, but no Bobber's. Drove down I-70 both directions to the nearest exits. Nope… no Bobber's at either. Checked into a convenience store back at exit 160. Got the word Bobber had sold out a few months before. The new owner had changed the name.

Drove to the truck stop and found some shade a distance away from the restaurant. It was getting pretty hot. Sandy soon arrived in his daily beater. He had taken time off from work. We had lunch at the restaurant and talked engines. He had brought along some pictures of his '49 and '39 standard. The '39 standard sports a '40 hood, grill, and fenders. He said this was quite a major undertaking to get things to fit. We didn't have a lot of time to visit. I would have enjoyed more. He left to return to work. I was ready to get back on the road and cool off after I had gassed up.

Topped off the fuel. Checked the engine over with a quick visual. Put away the e-mails of the forum members that had responded to my post on my last run. On each e-mail I had made cryptic notes concerning our meetings. I hoped I'd be able to decipher them once I was home. While I was in the shade of the station's canopy, I studied the Road Atlas for both two lane roads and interstates heading west. I knew I was getting close to running out of my meds. A quick check showed I'd have enough medications to make it home. Barely. I'd make it with enough medications left for one meal…… if I didn't have car troubles. It would be close. That clinched it. I had to take I-70 to Denver. Running two lane roads would take about one day longer. Secured everything and snapped down the driving compartment tonneau.
Lit the mill and pointed the grill down the interstate. Wound the flathead through the gears. Kicked it into overdrive about 60 mph and stayed in it until it hit 75 mph. I wanted to run faster, but there were just too many highway patrol around. Went through St. Louis MO and into Columbia, MO before dusk. The roadster didn't get its usual wash job that night. The next day it would get plastered with bugs before it had been on the road hour.

One thing about running in the western states is you have an hourly quota of bugs you're to flatten (the last thing that passes through a bugs mind when he hits a car doing 70 mph is his butt). And crossing eastern CO or KS is usually a bug splattering experience. And this run wasn't an exception. I seldom wash the bugs off a windshield because the bug juice has been known to stain the paint. So I just look between them and drive. But then there are times when the bugs get so bad, I can't see through them. Then they have to be removed. That's the way the last few days of this run would be.

Up early Thursday morning. After a quick McDuck's big breakfast, I nailed it on the approach ramp heading west on I-70. Ran 70-75mph mostly because of highway patrol. Cruised across the width of MO and in to Kansas City. Once I cleared Kansas City I leaned on it to bring it up to 75-80 mph. As expected, the bug kill went up in direct proportion to the speed. Stayed in Salina, KS that night. This was Thursday night. Didn't bother washing the roadster again that night. It almost looked like one big bug. After dinner I buttoned down the roadster for the night. Checked my medication supply. I had enough for the following morning and evening only. I figured Salina, KS to be an 8 hour run to Denver. Looked like I'd make it with one dose of meds left. It'd be close.

Overslept and didn't wake up until after 7:00 on Friday. Had a quick breakfast at McDuck's (again). Least they're fast and they fill a void. I pointed the roadster west again.

Now between Salina, KS and eastern CO the wind always blows….and blows hard. Early morning is the best time to cross this section, because the wind comes up about 10 AM. Seems to come out of the north in the AM and out of the south in the PM. Maybe it's been where it wants to go in the morning and is returning home in the afternoon to get ready for the next day. All I know it blows directly at the side of a car. You have to turn into the stiff wind to keep the car going straight. And when you're in a roadster with no side windows, the fierce hot wind will actually blister the side of your face. This day was no exception. It was soon between 95 and 105 degrees (where's that rain when I want some?). The hot air blew hard at the right side of the car. At times it felt like the light roadster was about to get blown clear off the road and the chicken bone in my right foot would cause me to lift off the accelerator slightly. (The older you get, the bigger the chicken bone grows. And the bigger it gets, the sooner you lift off the accelerator.) I tried to run in the 70-75 mph range with the steering wheel turned nearly a quarter turn into the wind, but often was down to 60 mph or so.

Stopped in Burlington, CO for fuel. When I accelerated onto the interstate, I could feel a definite lack of power. Damned altitude. I had been near sea level for so long, I had forgotten how much power is lost due to increased elevation. At sea level it had pulled as hard in high overdrive as it did in straight high gear at 5000'. And the octane of premium no-lead we get in CO is a sparkling 91. Lousy gas.

Finally got out of the cross wind about Limon. Then it just got hot. Pulled into the 'burbs of Denver just in time for Friday rush hour. Through Denver to the west side near the foothills. The roadster front end and windshield were multi-hued from the front end filling my bug quota.

Later inspection would show the radiator fins were about 30% plugged shut with them. No wonder the mill ran 190 degrees from Salina home. As I approached the foothills to the west of Denver, I turned off the interstate. I was only a few miles from home. I'm sure the flathead needed a rest. At least I did. It wasn't quite 4:00 PM when I pulled in the driveway. I had enough meds for that evening. Made it.

My last run had covered 10,400 miles. I had been in 22 states and Washington, DC. Time from start to finish was 5 weeks. The hopped up flathead engine had no trouble other than breaking a starter drive spring in Ohio. The engine rebuild had 81,000+ miles on it when I finished the run. I did not carry a spare tire, jack, nor lug wrench simply because I don't have the room. Cost of the trip? "Road costs" included food, motels, premium gas, and engine oil. This averaged $146 a day. Not too expensive. This did not include costs associated with museums, car shows, souvenirs, etc.

My new paint had road rash on both front fenders. I got two dings in the doors from other car doors. About what I had expected. The windshield received several rock pits. The engine began using oil during the trip. But since I drained the Castrol 40wt (about all I could find on the east coast) and put in Valvoline 40wt, the consumption went from 450 miles per quart to near 1000 miles per quart. However, it does put a puff out the right tail pipe during shifts. A compression test showed the same numbers as before the run. Plans are to rebuild the engine this winter and put in a little more cam. The upholstery is showing wear too.

One additional note. I had wanted to meet my good friend Sopp in Eau Clair, WI….. and mcginnis in Minneapolis, MN…. and walts52flatty in Marine on St. Croix, MN….and 40cpe in Star, MS. But simply ran out of time and medications. Sorry about not meeting up with you guys.

So I made my last run. Sure hate to not be thinking about a trip next year. Wonder what it would have been like to get north of the Canadian border a couple hundred mile and zigzag from the east to the west? Or take a run to Alaska? Guess I'll never know. All I know is, So many roads, so little time…….. rumble seat