rumble seat: 6/13/2000 - 6:34:10
PM
part 1
Saturday, May 20. Left on the run just before daybreak. I had
committed to being at the annual Canyon City CO rod run held that
day. Hung around there until about 2PM. Noticed it was getting
dark and threatening so I hauled out of there and thought I'd
beat it. No way. Soon ran into rain that soon turned into snow...
big, wet flakes. Top was down and it was raining/snowing too hard
to stop and put up the top. Found a motel and parked it under
their canopy. Since I use only water in it, I was worried about
freezing it up. Consequently I set the alarm every two hours and
would get up and start it up and let it idle to build some heat.
Temp outside was in the upper 20's. Gave it up about 5AM and scooped
snow off the seat and left for warmer climes. Route took me over
Poncho Pass (el 9800') where the thermometer in the glove box
showed 18 degrees. Brrrrr! When I put the heater in the roadster,
the only place it would fit was clear over on the passenger side.
Consequently, it didn't give me any heat. To correct this, I had
put 3 convertible top snaps on the heater. One on the passenger
side and two on the top. An old navy blanket had 3 female snaps
located near the top. I snap the blanket on the heater and drape
it over towards me and cover my lap and legs. This creates a tunnel
for the majority of the heat from the heater to flow directly
to me and keeps my legs and feet warm as toast. Sure helps a lot.
I was using this during the first part of the day. Over the summit
and down the other side and toward warmer temperatures. Found
a small cafe and pulled in the parking lot. Strange looks from
the locals. Wonder why? Topless flathead roadster with a relic
for a driver would be my guess. Good hot coffee and sausage and
biscuits so I dallied over breakfast while it warmed up to the
40's outside. Took off south to Monte Vista CO and then into Durango
CO and to Gallup NM where I met up with Ron (erbssr I think).
He took me to a friend named Ted who has a duece roadster under
construction as well as a chopped and lowered 50's Merc. Ted's
'34 Vicky is done and is sharp, but not FH powered. Very nice
rods. Had dinner with both of them and Ted's wife. Then Ron showed
me his place. Huge garage with several cars and several 8CM engines
besides some '49 Merc overdrives. He has three '49-'51 Merc's
and one is an original that is to die for. We won't talk about
his hemi motor or Sting Ray in the garage. Then off the next morning
to El Paso TX to see a good friend I rode dirt bikes with for
years. It was 104 when I pulled into town. Roadster carrying 65psi
oil pressure and running 180 degrees at 70mph. Who says 3-3/8'
X 4' flatheads with 9.5:1 comp run hot? And boy that flathead
did respond to the lower elevation! Where's those brand X cars?
Had some great Mexican food and lots of good conversation. The
next morning I headed to Las Crueces NM and met a good friend
who worked for me for several years. He's just finished his '68
Ford half ton with a built up 390 FE block he put together that
runs hard. He's just beginning on a '35 three window that'll be
FH powered. He does like my heap. Next day it was off to Las Vegas
NV where I spent the night with some friends that were neigbors
years ago. Great body man and a real craftsman, but has terminal
health problems. Sad. It was 117 degrees when I pulled into north
Las Vegas! Ran 180-185 until I got into town traffic. Temp increased
to 190 and stayed there until I got back on the freeway. Then
off to Los Angeles CA.
rumble seat: 6/13/2000 - 8:12:42
PM
part 2
Across the desert in the early morning to CA. Stopped in Barstow
CA and met up with Sopp. Since I was early I found an abandoned
filling station and was waxing the roadster to kill time. A rodder
stopped by and asked if I needed help. Told him I was waiting
to call Sopp and he said he knew him and his brother from WI!
About 9AM I called Sopp and met him and his brother at a cafe.
The rodder who had stopped by came in and joined us. Sopp said
he's well known throughout the hot rod field and has built many
famous cars. Sorry I forget his name. Sopp took me out to his
place to see his cars and on the way we stopped by a place he'd
heard had lots of flathead stuff. Talk about FH goodies! Sopp
has already written about the FH stuff there so I won't repeat
it. But it was a real treat for these old eyes. Temp in Barstow
was about 95 so it defintely wasn't cold or too hot. Sopp has
a really neat truck that he bought for parts but has decided it's
too nice to part out and will have it running soon he hopes. Sopp
lives in WI but visits his brother in Barstow a lot to help him
on cars. Next morning I was underway again. Arrived in Los Angeles
CA early Friday. Drove to Laguna Niguel to stay a few days with
another old biker buddy named Scotty. He's been in and out of
cars but currently is out of it. After seeing my car, he's looking!
Took him for a ride in the roadster and went to see a friend named
Ted. He has a blown 289HiPo Ford in a white '36 Cord. Spotless
installation and construction of the whole car. Ted told us about
an early morning donut cruise where 200-300 rods show up. It's
an every Saturday occurence in Huntington Beach and is called
the Donut Derelicts. If you're not there by 6:30AM there isn't
any place to park! Decided to go so we were on the freeway and
headed to Huntington Beach at 5AM. Running 60mph when an 'A' hi-boy
entered off an on-ramp just ahead. Wanted to see what he was running
for a mill since he didn't have any hood so picked it up. At 70
he was still leaving me! Some model A! At 80+ I finally pulled
up alongside. The mill was a Ford four banger! Saw it later at
the donut shop and took pictures of the Riley OHV conversion with
dual Strombergs 97's. He runs an under/direct/over truck box in
the torque tube. Gives him 9 gears forward and runs like a rabbit
if you don't mind rowing a shifter or two. Great donuts too. About
200 rods there by 6:30AM. Seemed there were lots of things going
that day in the way of shows and swap meets so the attendance
was down! My old '34 had it's hood up and was attracting quite
a group of people. Must have been because it was a strange car
and running Colorado plates is all I can figure because of all
the quality cars there. Was talking to Ted by his Cord when he
pointed at a man peering intently at my engine compartment. He
asked if I knew who it was and I said no. Said it was Jack Chrisman
and that he was a FH nut too. But that he was pretty grouchy and
didn't talk to hardly anyone, let alone a stranger. I walked over
to the car and stood nearby. He looked at me and asked if it was
mine. Said yes. He said 'What kind of steering box is that?' He's
one of only two people that have remarked on the Hudson steering
box. Told him about it and how it fit right in the car along with
what pitman arms fit and the differences between the '35, '36,
and '37 boxes. We hit it right off and I found him to be very
friendly. Then we got into ignitions and carburetion along with
various other FH related things. He really liked my 6V/12V starting
system. The word spread and about 40 rodders came by to talk about
it and see how the system worked. Talked to Chrisman for nearly
45 minutes. Ted was in shock! Said he'd never seen him friendly
to a stranger before! Said it must have been because I was a FH
freak. Anyway I went by his shop later that day and got to look
around. Had five 8BA engines under construction in addition to
THREE Arduns! The Arduns were all the new series and he said they're
far superior to the original ones. Got to look over the several
street rods he was building for people. Nice guy in my book to
treat a stranger from out of town so nice. Then about the middle
of the day we went to San Diego in the roadster and saw an old
friend named Bob Hansen who was Honda's motorcycle race manager
for years. Spent the afternoon with him tinkering on antique race
bikes and admiring his new Ferrai with only 250 miles! He's also
got a V6 powered Model A panel truck that is really nice but is
down with a bad auto trans. Then back to LA. Next morning back
to San Diego for a show inland about 49 miles. Bob had asked if
I'd bring the roadster to it since they needed cars. Temperature
along the coast was cool at 8AM and had coats on. Inland it was
soon 100 degrees! About 2PM I told Scotty I needed to generate
some wind and said good by to Bob and headed back to LA. It had
been 100 degrees two days in LA! Next morning I left for La Verna
CA and BillyP.
rumble seat: 6/14/2000 - 11:09:14
AM
Part 2A?
Thought you might be interested in some side things that happened
along the way. The Isky cam I have has about 35K miles on it and
the fuel pump lobe is worn. It's supposed to have a 0.250 inch
lift (I think that's right) and mine has 0.075 inch. This means
the stock fuel pump is only putting out slightly over 2psi. This
should be ample since I run a regulator that is set at 2-1/2 psi
and these old Strombergs don't like much fuel pressure. But I
figured I might have to rely on the auxillary Carter electric
rotary pump most of the way. Other than using the electric when
it was so hot in Vegas as a precaution and checking the electric
from time to time, I ran the entire trip on the stock pump with
no vapor locking or starving the carbs. At nearly every stop people
would come up and talk about the car except in CA. They tended
to completely ignore it for the most part except for other gear
heads. Once I was stopped in the parking strip on a downtown street
in a NM town to check the roadmap when a woman approached. She
asked if I needed help. I said I was just checking the map and
then was going to find a place to eat lunch before I left town.
She told me a good place to eat lunch and asked if I'd like company!
Certainly... after all I don't get much chance to talk when I'm
by myself on the road... and you guys know how I like to talk!
She introduced herself as Darlene and got in the roadster and
directed me to a nice restaurant on the edge of town where we
had an enjoyable lunch. After lunch I drove her back to her office
and headed out on the road. Nice lady and a nice change of pace!
Along the way I received quite a few inquires about whether I
would sell the car. Three times on various interstates I had cars
pull up next to me to take pictures of the roadster as they drove
alongside. When I stopped in the parking lot of Hoover Dam to
see the dam, there was a tour bus of Japanese tourists that were
taking pictures of the dam. A Japanese man and his lady came over
and made it known they would like to take a picture of the roadster.
This took some doing since they didn't speak English and it's
for sure I don't speak a single word of Japanese. Anyway I somehow
made it known they could take pictures of them both in the roadster
if they wanted. They turned to the others and said something and
handed a man their camera. They then got in the car while the
man took their picture. Next thing I knew they're all talking
a lot and lining up to have their pictures taken in the car! This
went on for about 20 minutes until all had taken all the pictures
they wanted. They had never seen a rumble seat before and I was
sorry it was so full of luggage etc. since they could have had
their pictures taken in it. The tour guide was the only one that
spoke any English and he came over and thanked me for letting
them sit in the car and have their pictures taken. He said they'd
told him that it was the high point of the entire tour! Speaking
of pictures... I take a run like this usually every year or so.
And each year my wife asks if I took any pictures. I usually take
1 or 2 pictures total. This time I was into the 7th roll when
I got home! In Las Vegas a couple of kids threw a good sized rock
when I drove by and nailed the drivers door pretty good. I stopped
and watched them as they ran away. The rock took four good sized
chips out of the black paint. Oh well.... these would match up
with the many rock chips I got in the front fenders and the front
of the rear fenders. I picked up two fair sized chips in the windshield
along the way too. Somewhere in Oregon I was on the interstate
and cruising along about 55mph since I was running about a day
ahead of schedule and the scenery was so pretty. I was in the
middle lane on a three lane interstate and a semi passed me on
the right in the truck lane. I could see him looking in his outside
mirror and checking out the roadster. He must have pulled on the
wheel or something because he drifted off to the right and onto
the narrow shoulder. Trouble was there was a bridge overpass coming
up that had an arch over it. The arch on the edge of the shoulder
was a foot or so closer to the ground than the traffic lane. Just
enough so the top of the right side of the trailer hit it and
ripped the corner completely off the trailer from front to rear.
The aluminum pieces were bouncing all over the road and I missed
all except for one good sized chunk that I ran over with the both
right side tires. No damage to my unit, but the semi used up a
lot of all three lanes of the interstate before he got it under
control after jerking the wheel back. Nearly jack knifed it in
front of me a couple of times! Woke me up to say the least. Wonder
what was said in the accident report? At Billy's in La Verna CA
I backed the Hudson steering box adjustment off 1/8 turn since
it was a little tighter than I liked. Used his garage and floor
jack. Naturally I took some guff about my heap needing all this
maintenance. All the while he was taking pictures of me working.
Doesn't happen very often... me working that is. This was the
first thing I'd had to touch in the way of repairs on the trip
to that point. Then just north of Reno I noticed the temp was
180 and it wasn't quite 90 degrees yet. A little warmer than it
should have been. Also the ammeter was showing a slight discharge.
Figuring the fan belt must be too loose, I stopped by the roadside.
Sure enough it was much too loose so I tightened it. This was
the second thing that required attention so far. Damn thing was
falling apart on me! The temp went down to 170 and the ammeter
soon remained at 4-5 amps charge like it always does. In Yellowstone
Park I was following an SUV from Oregon with two women in it at
the posted 40 mph speed limit. The SUV drifted right onto the
right shoulder and then the driver jerked the wheel back onto
the road. The SUV answered and it crossed the road just barely
in front of another car coming the opposite direction with smoke
pouring off it's tires. The SUV went into the bar ditch and hit
the other side of the ditch straight on and then went end over
end once before rolling twice and coming to a stop on it's top.
The women were trapped inside, but didn't seemed hurt. Someone
got on their cell phone (I don't have one and figure I don't need
one with a flathead!) and called it in. Took about 10 minutes
before help arrived. Then it took about 10 more minutes before
we could get the thing upright. They used the jaws of life to
cut them out and then took both to the hospital. Seems the driver
had dozed off. In Kinston WA at rodnut's place the 12V side wouldn't
work on the starter. I'd had trouble with it a BillyP's place
and had determined it was the electric terminal on the wire from
the starter button. Bummed a new terminal from rodnut and crimped
it on. Seems the old one was partially insulated and wasn't making
contact all the time. Repair number three! That's all I can think
of incidents at this time. More if I remember them.
rumble seat: 6/15/2000 - 4:39:18
PM
Part 3
Called Billy when I arrived in La Verna (east of Pamona CA) from
a donut shop. Told him the where I was and he said he'd be there
in 10 minutes. He lied! I waited outside and in 7 minutes flat
I heard the beautiful sounds of flathead pipes backing down...
then a slight squeal of rubber as he powered into the shoppette
and into my view. NEAT pickup! Pulled up next to my heap and got
out. Had coffee and donuts while we talked. Then followed him
to his house. No wonder he was so fast.... I was only about 10
blocks from his house! Showed me his iron and projects. This guy
is the BIGGEST gear head I've ever met! He lives and breathes
hot rods! His roadster chassis is nearly done and he has a couple
of other projects that are already in the wings. He was a diesel
mechanic before he injured his back and has all the tools etc.
you could ever need. His shop is under construction since the
great state of CA moved him to make way for yet another freeway!
Went for a ride in his pickup. It has a heated up FH running three
carbs. What a wuse... he only runs on the center one!! Blames
it on his wife! All show and no go??? Just kidding Billy and you
know it. Later that AM we went to his friends Jim place in Pamona
in the roadster. It was above 85 degrees and we were cruising
about 60mph on the freeway. Billy was going nuts over the Columbia
and went bananas when he saw my engine temp running 155 degrees
and carrying 70 psi oil pressure. Says he has to have a Columbia
for his wife's pickup. Got to Jim's place. Now this guy is a hemi
freak! His '36 Cord is black and perfect and has a hemi. As well
as the '39 coupe his father bought new. The only difference is
the coupe has a 6-71 blower! Beautiful coupe. Seems Jim had just
gotten a call that his Brookville steel '32 roadster had finally
arrived and he was going to pick it up in two days. Naturally
it'll have a hemi too! No sweat... since he has about 6 of them
laying around! He had to go to So-Cal shop and Billy and I tagged
along in his '39 coupe. As soon as we were on a main thoroughfare
and running about 40mph Jim nailed it. Talk about acceleration!
Really held you against the seat. He hit it a couple of time on
the way to So-Cal. Awesome to say the least. Said the 6-71 was
under driven 10%. Toured the So-Cal shop. Lots of neat cars under
construction. They're just finishing an orange and red FH powered
roadster that's sure to be in the mags. Billy went ballistic since
it's almost exactly like the one he's building. There was a Model
A pickup with a hot flathead about ready for primer. It had a
shortened bed, about a 4 inch chop, and probably a 6 inch channel.
Really low. Interesting fan idler arrangement too. Ran a steel
plate from one side to the other using two water pump bolts on
each side. The fan and idler is located in the middle of this
and was running off a belt on the outside pulley of the crank.
Interesting to say the least. Once back at Jim's house, they convinced
me to go with them a couple of blocks away to see some sprint
cars. What a shop! He has about 6 sprint cars and they're all
ready to race and he does race them. Alas they were all OHV engines.
He also had many, and I mean many, spint quick change housings.
Some were blown and he was using them to make some really neat
wall clocks! He also had some speedway bikes that were perfect.
It was getting late in the afternoon and I told Jim and Billy
it was time for me to be heading out and continuing my trip. Billy
wouldn't hear of it and insisted on my staying another day to
go to the Twilight Cruise at the Fairplex.... whatever that was.
Must admit I wasn't in much of a hurry since I was a couple of
days ahead of where I thought I'd be and Billy and I had hit it
off so well. So I agreed. Billy insisted I camp out at his place.
About then Mickey (Billy's wife) arrived home from work and also
insisted I stay with them. She is an absolutely stunning lady
and is as friendly as Billy is. After she changed out of her work
clothes she wanted to go for a ride in my roadster. Come to find
out, she's as big a gear head as Billy! She knows all about engines
and cars and it's HER pickup.... NOT BILLY'S! She's the one that
insisted on the flathead and the three on the tree tranny. Billy
built it for her and it's probably the best '40 pickup I've EVER
seen as far as quality and workmanship. Billy is some craftsman.
Anyway Mickey and I took off for a ride. She asked the size of
the mill and I told her it was 3-3/8 by 4. She didn't hesitate
and said '286 inches huh?' Talk about sharp! She loved the overdrive
and wants one for HER '40. Had some great Mexican food that night.
Next day I adjusted the steering in my car in his garage. Billy
and I just messed around most of the day looking at rods of his
friends. About 3:30 we got ready to go to the Twilight Cruise.
There were several of us that caravaned to it from Billy's house.
Billy's '40, Jim's '39, a smoothie '34 roadster with a wild Chevy
OHV, and a Chevy powered '38 standard coupe besides mine. Got
there about 4:15 and there were already about 50 cars there! This
cruise happens the last Wednesday of each month and is held at
the NHRA Motorsport Museum at Fairplex. Had no sooner parked mine
when Jim came over and told me to move my car. Seems he'd talked
to the powers that be and they wanted it to be the guest car and
parked in the entry to the museum! It's probably one of the biggest
car honors I've ever gotten and means an awful lot to this old
timer. They wanted some info on my trip and car for later when
the MC would talk about it. Then we toured the museum and met
Wally Parks. I'd met him about 15 years ago in Denver, but only
briefly. He's a very good friend of several members of the Denver
Timing Association of which I've been a member since 1956. We
talked several minutes about them and how they are doing. He's
a very gracious person in my book. Then he said he wanted me to
meet someone and turned to introduce me to him. It was Jack Chrisman!
Jack even remembered me and said Hi Paul! When I went outside
the place must have had 250 hot rods! Fanatastic and on a Wednesday
evening too! Near the end of the event the MC had me up at the
podium and asked about my trip etc. He asked what the last thing
my wife said as I walked out the door. I said 'Something like...
GET OUT!' which brought a lot of laughter!. Then the cruise broke
up and we stopped for pizza and beer before calling it a night.
Next morning I said a really sad goodby to Mickey and Billy....
I hated to leave, but it was time or I would have to move to La
Verna! Neat town and lots of car activities all the time. I left
for CA state highway #1. This runs up the coast and is next to
the ocean and is a beautiful drive although quite slow going.
It's where I got stopped by the CHP!
rumble seat: 6/16/2000 - 10:09:24
AM
Part 4.
Filled up with gas before I left La Verne CA. Should have waited
until I was closer to the coast as I later found out. Headed west
to get to the coastal highway #1 at Pismo Beach. Cool and was
wearing my winter Denver Roadster leather jacket. Headed up the
coast on highway #1. Notrh of Cambria there are no towns or roads
back to the east for about 137 miles. Just a two lane twisty 40
mph road with sections that are posted slower due to sharp curves
etc. Slow going, but very beautiful especially in an topless roadster
(Drive topless is what I tell the girls!). I was about half way
up this stretch when a CHP cop going the other way jumped on his
binders and whipped a U and started following me. I was running
slightly under the posted speed and wasn't worried about being
stopped. Wrong! He soon hit his siren and lights and I pulled
over. He came up the right side of the car with his ticket book
in hand. Great! I inquired as to what the problem was. He said
I didn't have any brake lights. Funny since I'd checked them that
very morning. He got testy and asked how I could check them since
I was by myself. Told him I had backed it up to a dark window
in a shopping center and both brake lights worked. He walked to
the back of the '34 and said for me to hit the brakes. I did.
He must have thought I was using the light switch because he had
me hit the brakes several times. He came up alongside and said
they hadn't worked on the last two curves. I didn't need to use
the brakes since the engine compression slowed me down enough.
Then he said 'Well you've got blue dot tail lights.' I told him
they were legal in my state. And what state is that he asked.
Hell, he'd hadn't even checked the plates when he stopped me!
Colorado I said. To this he said 'What are you doing in California?'
Vacation I said. He then asked on three different occasions if
I now lived in CA full time! Dunce! Then he wanted to know how
blue dot tail lights could be legal in Colorado. I said 'Because
that's the law. Besides they came stock on '33-'34 Cadillacs and
how can stock tail lights be illegal? And there were several other
states in which they're legal.' He mumbled something and then
said 'Have a nice day and drive carefully.' and walked back to
his car. Talk about harassment! Just because I was driving an
old car! Anyway I got underway. Noticed shortly the gas gauge
was getting down towards empty. Figured it'd be close but I was
sure I could make it into Monterey. Although I wasn't using overdrive
and was getting only about 16 mpg. Watched for a service station,
but I hadn't seen one since leaving Cambria. About 15 miles up
the road I came around a curve and found a station. Pulled in.
Man came out and wouldn't let me pump my own gas. Checked the
price of gas and did a double take! $2.899 a gallon! He said there
was a Chevron up the road at $3.05! So I abused $30 by getting
10 gallons. In lots of stations in CA they won't take credit cards!
They'll take ATM and cash only! I don't use ATM (service charge
is one reason) and who carries enough cash to buy gas on a long
trip? Headed inland at Monterey and spent the night in San Jose.
rumble seat: 6/16/2000 - 5:04:20
PM
Part 5.
San Jose, CA. As usual I made calls from the motel to people I
was hoping to meet the following day. I tried to contact a member
of the Denver Timing Association that had moved to San Rafel outside
of San Francisco, but was unable to. Too bad.... I would have
enjoyed seeing them. I've been a member of this club since 1956
and we're still active today with members all over the world.
The current roster has about 180 on it! Pretty unusual to last
this long, but it's a laid back club and we're all old timers
now. Enough about this stuff. The next morning I woke up to damp,
cloudy and 48 degrees according to my thermometer. Tucked the
lap blanket around the heater and headed north from San Jose in
rush hour traffic. Soon passed Moffett Field next to Mountain
Side CA. I had been stationed there during my stint in the navy
in 1955. Hardly any activity. I had talked with a man at dinner
in San Jose and he said they had shut the base almost all the
way down. They were going to tear down 2 of the 3 dirigible hangars.
Another change. Went through Frisco after seeing the mandatory
daily wrecks that stop freeway traffic. Then headed NE to Sacremento
where I contacted 34Tim and Ibuildm that evening to tell them
I'd be seeing them the next day. Next morning I headed out to
Ibuildm's shop. It's only a mile off the interstate in the 'burbs
of Sacremento and easy to find. His shop, or rather business,
is Tim's Hot Rod Shop. I was early (as usual) and he soon showed
up as did a '34 full fendered roadster, a '32 full fendered roadster,
and blown Chevelle. The '34 had a Chevy and is built typical of
current hot rods. Very nice car, but just not my style. The '32
looked pretty original, and was running a 283 Chev with an automatic
and an 8 inch (I think) rear end. Sorry if I'm wrong about some
of the details throughout this long journal. After seeing so many
neat rods I forget details. Super neat '32 since it definitly
looked nostalgic. Tim showed me around his business. He's got
the V12 Lincoln on a stand in the show room. VERY impressive with
it's headers, triple carbs on a polished intake, and polished
finned heads. Really sharp. Also on the showroom floor was a '34
coupe he's doing for his wife. Then into the working area. His
flamed lavender hi-boy '32 roadster was there. What a ride! Everything
polished and finished everywhere. The rear end and underside are
as detailed and perfect as I've ever seen. The dual pipes are
a true work of art and were done in his shop. He said it's the
one he's driving on the power tour this year. The FH engine was
built by Tatom and runs a whiffle blower (screw type). Surprise!
The electronic ignition was out so he couldn't fire it for me.
They were working on another roadster that was following the current
trends. Again... not my style or preference. His home is on the
same property as his business so we walked to it. His other '32
hi-boy roaster is there. It's also FH powered with a four speed
out of a GM (I think). It's running normal aspiration with carbs
and is black.... the perfect color as far as I'm concerned! Even
though it's not near the quality or impressive as his lavender
one, I liked it best by far. Really neat and had some monster
baloneys on the back. Tim said he likes to drive it more than
the lavender roadster. Such a decision... so many roadsters and
so little time. Back to his shop and talked to him and the owners
of the other roadsters for a while. He's a true rodder and it's
very evident that he knows what he's doing. Very high quality
work and a super guy.... like all flatheaders. Then I headed out
to meet 34Tim in Auburn CA at 5PM. Got a room in Auburn that afternoon
and called him. He came into town and got me since his house is
hard to find... that's putting it mildly. I followed him and the
road kept getting less and less until the last 1/4 mile was dirt.
But Henry had built these cars with dirt and gravel roads in mind.
Very isolated place in some pretty woods. He showed me his shop.
He's got a '35 ('36?) sedan under construction that is really
going to be a sharp street rod. And his hi-boy '34 coupe. It's
together enough to drive and that's exactly what he's doing....
driving it every chance he gets. No upholstry or panel in the
roof among other things, but it's running and driveable. Looks
like what a lot of us ran in high school and I loved it. Tim kept
referring to it as a jalopy, but it sure wasn't to me. Running
basically a stock FH with a couple of Holley 94's. He fired it
for me and it didn't sound just right and wasn't as throttle responsive
as I thought it should be. I offered to adjust the carbs since
I had my Uni-Syn with me. He didn't seem interested so I dropped
it. Looked at all the stuff he has. Lots of pieces and engine
parts. He's turning into a real flatheader and hot rodder for
sure. Decided it was time to eat so his wife and 3 kids led the
way to a pizza place via some back roads. He followed in his coupe
and I brought up the rear. Got a couple of pictures of his rod
running ahead of mine down the narrow wooded roads. Neat. Enjoyed
some really great pizza and conversation. Tim mentioned he thought
there was a cruise in Auburn so we took off with our rods to attend
it. There wasn't one, so we ended up standing by our cars in the
shopping center parking lot where it is usually held. Several
people stopped to talk about our cars. It was getting dusk and
I said I'd best be heading back to the motel. He asked if I had
time to check his carbs. No problem. Checked them. He was running
almost 100% on he rear one.. the front was hardly doing any contributing.
Took about 10 minutes to synch them. Had a lot better throttle
response. Showed him a simple thing to do to the carbs so he could
remove the main and choke bodies leaving the throttle bases on
the manifold so as to not disturb the linkage settings. Doing
this will not alter the synchronizing I'd done on the carbs and
they won't have to be re-synched. The timing was slightly retarded
to me, but I didn't have a vacuum gauge to set the timing, so
had to let it go. Said our good byes and headed to the motel where
I tried to reach Harlan in Nevada. Ended up leaving a message
that I'd be in his town he next day about noon or so. He lives
in Fernley NV which is NE of Reno NV about 40 miles. I had just
checked out and was walking out the motel's office when he called
the next morning. Seems he had to attend a wedding (I'm sorry!)
at 11:30, but could meet me before. So I headed out running about
70-85 mph most of the way. Really cold going over the mountains
and I stopped long enough to snap up my lap blanket again. What
a life saver it's proved out to be!!!
rumble seat: 6/17/2000 - 10:32:03
AM
Part 6.
First off I need to correct a couple of things I've written. I
said I met erbssr in Gallup. Wrong! My appologies to erbssr. I
met RSellers in Gallup NM and he's the one with the merc's. Secondly
I said Ibuildm's '32 lavender roadster is a hi-boy. Wrong again.
It's a full fendered car. Sorry about that Tim. Now I'll get into
part 6 which is meeting Harlan in Nevada. Stopped in Reno to find
out where in Fernley NV we could meet. Then back onto the freeway
and punching the flathead up to speed to cover the 40 miles so
we would have some time to talk before he attended the wedding.
Air was starting to warm up and it felt good. Met Harlan at the
cafe. I had breakfast while we talked. He told me about a FH he'd
finished for a friend that is 3-3/8 by 4-1/4 with a good sized
huffer that is making some serious boost. It has one of the new
billet cranks we all envy to own. Said they had to have the long
stroker pistons specially made and they were very expensive. It
was built to blow off the typical heated up 350 Chevy and Harlan
says it does just that with ease! Didn't get to see it or hear
it. Too bad. Seems his friend had some really deep pockets. Too
bad all of us don't have! His wife had his '35 ('36?) pickup since
it was being used in the wedding. After breakfast I followed him
to the church and got to see his neat pickup. He's done some inovative
things to it to suit his needs. He's put the oil cooler and air
conditioning condenser in the bed of his truck with separate electric
fans. Really a neat idea and certainly eases up the clutter in
the engine compartment a lot. He has them inside a metal box that
is screened on all sides and has an aluminum diamond plate top.
Looks good. Says he has to run a 100amp 12 volt alternator to
keep up with the electric fans (1 engine, 1 oil cooler, and 1
air conditioner). He says it never heats up even in the surrounding
hot desert air. I think the engine would run considerably cooler
since the air conditioning condenser is not in front of the radiator
and heating up the incoming air before it even gets to the radiator.
He invited me to attend the wedding, but I declined.... been there,
done that. It was nearing time for the wedding so I got under
way again. Drove east a short distance to Fallon NV to see the
town again. I spent a VERY HOT summer there while in the service.
Sure has changed a lot since 1955, but what hasn't? Hardly recognized
anything. Then back to Reno to have dinner with an old friend.
Next morning I pointed the bug splattered '34 grill towards the
NW and Seattle WA to meet rodnut. It was getting near the end
of my trip and I wasn't ready for it to end!!!
rumble seat: 6/20/2000 - 9:58:42
PM
Part 7.
I prefer driving the two lane roads over the interstates. Unless
I'm trying to make time or in a big city. Most of this trip was
on the two lane roads (including pieces of the famous Route 66)
although I did a lot of freeway driving too. Anyways, I was heading
north out of Reno on US highway #395 towards Oregon. As the morning
went on, I noticed the engine was running warmer (about 180 if
I remember right) and the ammeter was showing neutral. Strange.
With the outside temp about 90 it should have been running about
170 degrees since there wasn't any wind. And the ammeter always
shows about 4-5 amps charge. Maybe the belt was loose. Pulled
over to the side. Sure enough there was about 2-1/2 inches of
play! Damn flatheads... always falling apart and needing worked
on! Took about 5 minutes to lift the seat, get tools, tighten
the belt, and return the tools. Then I was on my way again. Much
better and the temp soon dropped back to about the normal 165-170
degrees. Ammeter showed 5 amps. Times like this with the wind
from the roadster and the hot sun beating on you and combined
with the mellow sounds of the flathead's glasspack duals and the
sweet sound of the old V8 engine.... LIFE IS GOOD!!!! This is
what it's all about to me! Through north easten CA and into Oregon
on #395 and onto state #31 to US #97 to Bend OR. Stopped for lunch.
Left Bend and picked up US #20 heading north. It was about 90
degrees and I was cruising along about 65 or so and enjoying the
whole thing when I saw a one-percenter and his woman alongside
his scooter. Got on the binders. Troubles I asked? Seems his chopper
had seized the panhead tight. They'd been there over 2-1/2 hours
without anyone stopping, and that included several touring bikers!
No shade and they looked fried. Told them I had some water they
were welcome to (always carry a gallon of distilled water on trips),
but that it was pretty warm. They readily accepted my offer and
I leaned the seat forward and dug it out of the confines of the
luggage in the front of the rumble seat area. They nearly drank
the whole gallon! The man (forgot their names as usual) said there
was a Harley shop in the last town (Bend). Offered to take them
back to it. The biker said he'd stay with his scooter while we
went for a help. Drove his lady back to Bend (about 15 miles)
to the Harley shop. The owner said he'd take the shop truck out
and pick it up, so I left. Stopped long enough to grab a 6 pack
of cold Bud. Stopped at the broke down bike long enough to tell
the biker they were on their way. Watched him chug a can of Bud,
left him the rest of the 6 pack, and then I was, like Willie sings,
'On the road again'! I just consider what people did for me when
my Petronix ignition went out on a farm road in Kansas on a Sunday
morning in a heavy rain two years ago. Everyone needs help once
in a while. Stayed on back two lane roads until Salem OR. Got
on the interstate and started making time running about 70-75mph
most of the time. Got into Kingston WA a couple of days after
leaving Reno. It was sprinkling and the weatherman said it was
to rain, so put up the roadster top! First time on the whole trip!
Now I have a coupe! Called rodnut for directions from a McDonalds.
He said to sit tight and came to get me. Met up with him. His
name is Rob. Like all the people I'd met on this run, Rob was
a neat person and very friendly and knowledgeable about flatheads.
He is into rods heavy and likes to make as many things as possible
for his rod. His shop has a milling machine in addition to a lathe.
He's a good welder and does almost everything himself. Has a great
dog too! The roadster he has under construction is a T. Not sure
of the year, but guess a '27. Has a quick change that he bought
new that was junk and he had to remachine everything! Don't remember
the name right now, but contact him if you're thinking about buying
a new one. He may change your mind about the manufacturer. His
PCV system is really something to see. I wonder if he could diagram
it and put it on the net for others to see. Takes considerable
machining and thinking though... way beyond me. We piled in the
roadster (coupe?) and went to lunch after stopping at a place
where the owner restores Cords! Does everything including upholstry!
Really something to see. The Rob took me to see a collection.
The man's name is Tom and he has a '58 Impala, '47 woody, a couple
of other cars, a stunning and beautiful dual cowl phaeton Dusenberg(!),
and, my favorite, a '33 Ford coupe. It has very low mileage (about
15,000) and still has the original interior that looks new. It
has the only working cigarette lighter I've ever seen! The engine
is a 21 stud flathead with some ORIGINAL dual plug Elco heads,
a Nash distributor to fire them, and a Scott (?) blower! Everything
is perfect and polished as is the whole shop! It has a Columbia
that they couldn't figure how to connect it up since the brackets
were for a 24 stud and there wasn't room for the rod from the
clutch to the O'D solenoids among other problems. Showed him how
mine was hooked up and took Tom for a ride using mine through
the gears several times. When rodnut and I left, his FULL TIME
MECHANIC was already starting on connecting it up! Must be nice
to be able to have a full time person restoring your vehicles,
but Tom is certainly one that deserves it... really nice and down
to earth. Tom was very friendly and I would like to have spent
more time with him and his mechanic.... lots to learn from them
both. Then off to an early 50's drive-in Rob knew about. This
is way back on private property and looks just like many drive-ins
looked in the 50's. Pretty spectacular with all the Elvis stuff,
checkerboard floors, chopper, and booths with a complete soda
fountain. It even has it's own burn-out strip! He rents it out
to clubs and for special functions. However it was getting on
in time and Rob and I put the top down (everyone needs roadster
time)and left for rodnut's house. Said my good-bys and left. Got
lost trying to find Kingston!!!!!
rumble seat: 6/24/2000 - 11:50:27
PM
Part 8
Left rodnuts and headed back to Kingston.... or so I thought.
He lives down a series of side roads and I had followed him to
his house. I missed remembering a turn somewhere because suddenly
nothing looked familar. I back tracked but couldn't find a thing
that looked familar. After about 30 minutes of this I finally
saw a woman at a stop sign. Not many signs or cars in these back
roads. I stopped and asked directions. Just follow that road to
the second sign and turn right. It'll take you right into Kingston.
She was right! Sure helps when you know where you're going. I
had just missed a ferry to the mainland and had to wait about
25 minutes for the next one. The ferry would save me a couple
of hours of driving and it was getting towards rush hour in Seattle.
As I waited for the ferry, I wiped the roadster down to waste
time (it was a waste alright as we'll see). The sun was out and
it felt good. Got on the ferry and it soon headed towards Seattle.
About half way across the bay the skies darkened and it started
raining! Down to the hold of the ship I went and put the top up.
When we docked the rain had stopped.... or had it not yet arrived?
Which was it? The skies didn't look too friendly by this time.
They were looking downright hostile. Stopped for gas and got out
a couple of towels and put them on the seat just in case. Headed
east on I-90 towards Sammimish Pass and the Wenatchee Mountains.
Didn't begin to make it!!! Started raining pretty good about 5
miles down the road. Thought I could make it over the pass and
it might be dry on the other side. Sure sounds good doesn't it?
Wrong! About a couple of miles later it decided it was time to
quit messing around and RAIN... which it did. If you've never
been in a downpour in a roadster without side curtains, you have
no idea what you have missed. Rain started coming over the top
of the windshield frame between it and the top. The top overhangs
it and acts like a very efficient funnel that directs every available
drop of rain into the inside of the car. Then there is the rain
coming in between the top of the dash and the bottom of the windshield.....
roadsters don't have the windshield sealed to the cowl. This steady
flow blows off the dash and onto the driver. Neat. And there is
the rain leaking down the cowl vent and onto my right shoe and
sock. Naturally all this time the rain is blowing in where door
windows normally are for people with smarts enough to buy cars
that have them. That water is soaking me and the interior big
time. In short order I'm drenched as is my winter weight leather
Roadster Club jacket. Great, but at least I'm warm. The inside
of the windshield is as wet, or wetter, than the outside of it!
Roadsters only have a single wiper that's vacuum operated. It
wasn't doing near enough since it's only on the outside of the
windshield. There is a real need for one on the inside of the
windshield as well..... and then there is the matter of low vacuum
you know. Vacuum wipers stop on the slightest grade increase and
I'm pulling grade going up a pass. Kept watching for a motel.
No luck there. I had been using a towel to keep the worst of the
rain from running off the top of the dash and on blowing all over
me as well as swamping at the top of the windshield frame. The
first large towel was soaked in less than 10 minutes. Threw it
on the heater to dry (hah!). Still raining hard . I was running
about 55mph in the slow lane because I could feel the light car
trying to hydroplane. Of course the locals and semi's paid no
heed to hydroplaning. They boiled by me at 75mph... sending up
sheets and waves of water into the windowless roadster. One woman
in an older rear wheel drive Pontiac passed me with her right
front wheel completely stopped it was hydroplaning so bad! Never
slowed her down a bit. She just kept hauling it up the hill. It
got colder as I played motorboat toward the top of the pass. I
was wishing I had the lap blanket on me, but it was raining too
hard to stop and get it out. I could see my breath... and it wasn't
a pretty sight! God this is fun I thought to myself. What better
way to spend a day than this? I always say this when things are
bad and getting worse.... it somehow helps to make me laugh at
the ridiculous situation I happen to be in at the time. Well I
finally got to the top. Colder than a brass door knob in the Klondike!
Still pouring and the seats are swimming, the carpet has standing
water, and I'm soaked. The towels resemble soaked sponges more
than towels, so I give up using them and just watch the water
cascade in on me. About half way down the east side the rain stopped.
By the time I reached the bottom the sun was out and the sky was
blue. Go figure. Not drying out too good since it's pretty wet...
like a swimming pool is. Decided to call it a night and found
a motel in Ellensburg WA for the night. Rodnut had warned me about
the rain. But it was worth it though.. just to meet another flatheader.
rumble seat: 6/26/2000 - 7:20:45
PM
Part 9
Called the wife once I got dry to get Kent Jaquith's phone number.
He lives in Zilla WA which looked to be a couple hours from where
I was. Kent had repaired my vacuum windshield wiper some years
ago. It had been getting progressively slower over the years but
I was never concerned since I seldom have need for it. But I had
needed it bad earlier coming over the pass. So I called Kent to
see if there was anyway he could look at it the next day. I had
never met the man. I told him my name and said it was a '34 chrome
wiper motor. He remembered me and the wiper right away and was
very friendly. Let me back up here to when he first repaired it
years before. I had taken it apart since I usually could get them
to work. But couldn't get this one to work very well because the
leathers were hard and torn and there wasn't any gasket left.
Basically everything was wore completely out. I called a guy in
the Early V8 club and he gave me Kent's number. Sent it to Kent
and he repaired it with only a 2 day turn around. Pretty unusual.
Worked great and cost was about $45 if I remember right. So I
called him when I got it back on to thank him for the great job
he'd done. Guess he thought I was going to gripe about the motor
or something because his voice got testy when I described the
wiper motor. When I told him I was calling him to thank him for
the great job, he got real friendly. Several months passed and
I had a real need to use it a whole day coming back from Kentucky
(another neat flathead run). I wrote him a letter telling him
again what a great job he had done and thanking him. So when I
called from Ellensburg WA he remembered me immediately. He said
I was the only person to have ever called or written thanking
him for his efforts. He asked if I was driving the roadster and
I said sure. He said to bring it by and he'd look at it. Said
to call him from a small grocery store in Zilla about 9AM the
next day and he would give me directions on how to get to his
shop. The roadster was still dirty and the top was wet from the
rain when I went to bed that night. Usually I wash it right after
I get a motel room, but didn't this night. First time it went
to bed dirty on the whole trip. Got up at 6AM and washed it. Really
a mess. The top still wasn't dry around the edges so I elected
to run with it up to dry it. Headed south to Zilla. Don't like
running with the top up... too much wind noise. Pulled into the
Zilla convenience store about 8:40AM. Since I had some time to
kill before it was 9AM I put the top back down and snapped on
the boot. Then I called Kent. His wife answered saying Kent was
at the shop. She was having a hard time with directions to the
shop when a man pulled up in a pickup and said as I tryed to understand
the directions I was getting 'Your car?' 'Yeah' He walked around
it and said 'Bet these wiper motors give a lot of trouble.' It
was Kent and he was grinning with a twinkle in his eyes. Hung
up and we introduced ourselves. He was amazed I was by myself
in an old flathead. And he's an Early V8 member too. Said I was
to follow him to his shop. Now I'm paying close attention to all
the turns... don't want to get lost like I did at rodnuts. We
pull into a farm with an oversized garage. Showed me his cars
before he started on my motor. He's got a '39 Merc convert he's
just changing over to a Mustang front end, 302 OHV with C4 and
an 8'. Said the condenser failed again on a cold winter night
last year. He'd been eating condensers with regularly and was
fed up with the 'lousy stock distributors' and decided to change
to later OHV stuff. Everythings about done except for installing
the front sheet metal. Another one he's working on is a '49 Merc
woody. The chasis is done as well as the wood and body. He's about
ready to put the body on so it's not too far from being on the
road. It's a stock FH. Both are super neat cars.... but NOT his
shop! Wiper motors everywhere. I would estimate he's got well
over 500 of them, and that may be only half right! They're scattered
everywhere in piles and threatening to tumble from the overflowing
shelves. I took mine off and he went to work while we talked.
He replaced the leathers on the flapper with some stuff he's found
that works a lot better but doesn't age like leather. He uses
it on both the flapper and the washer. He removes the rivets to
replace the parts and then rivets them back together again. Super
neat work. He measured the thickness of the leathers on the flapper
and decided to use some that was 0.002 inches thicker to help
seal my warped casting. Castings that use 2 tiny screws to hold
the reversing mechanism cover (on the back) warp easily and cause
excessive drag on the flapper. The snap-on cover type don't often
warp. Naturally mine has the 2 screws and is slightly warped.
Once they warp they can't be straightened he said. He used standard
thickness stuff on the washer. He has had dies made to stamp the
flapper leathers and washer. He's also had some made to stamp
out new gaskets. He has dies for every type of common vacuum motor.
These are really neat and do a quality job. The gaskets are about
0.005 inches thick and are quite fragile. And they have to seal
tightly or the wiper won't perform right. He showed me several
things he does to save these old motors. He spent nearly 20 minutes
just honing and sanding the casting, top plate, and other parts
so things would seal and perform properly. A real craftsman. When
he finished it worked better than I can remember any vacuum wiper
working. He really knows his stuff. He had tried to call his best
friend to come over to see the roadster several times, but didn't
get an answer. Said he was probably outside sanding on his motor
home to paint it. I said we could drive over if he wanted. He
said it was about 12 miles. I said 'So?' and we were off. He hadn't
been in a roadster in nearly 20 years and he really enjoyed it.
He had had a perfect electric Columbia in his '39 and had sold
it with all controls for $3500 last year to a guy in Idaho (eat
your heart out Billy!). His friend was sanding on his motor home
when we got there. We talked cars and flatheads for sometime.
The we went back to Kent's shop. He refused to let me pay for
his work... he said we were even for bringing my roadster by.
The morning had long ago went by and it was early afternoon when
I finally left for Montana and MTflat. It would be the next to
the last stop before turning towards home.
rumble seat: 6/26/2000 - 8:11:33
PM
Part 10
Try to wrap this up soon. Sorry about going on so long, but you all know I'm long winded. Left Zilla and ran mostly two lane roads to Spokane. HERE I'VE GOT TO APPLOGIZE TO IBUILDM. I said he lived in Sacremento CA. Boy was I wrong.... several hundred miles wrong! He lives in Spokane WA. Please accept my sincerest applogy Tim. Confusion reigns. Just plain screwed up in my mind. Old age is my only excuse and a lot of miles. Anyway, I was up early the next day and met IBUILDM (see Part 5) and then headed north into British Columbia on a two lane. Wanted to say I was in Canada I guess. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was super. Cruising along about 65 mph listening to the sweet rumble of FH exhausts and the song a FH makes when it's running sweet. You know what I mean... it's like the mill's throb is oscillating with the pipes and the road. REALLY NEAT!!! Into Canada and east to Crestone and then turn south and back into the US and towards Kalispell and MTflat. Beautiful country when a state road sign catches my eye. Jump on the binders and shut the heap down. Make a U-turn back and then another and pull up to the sign. Stop the roadster and get out with my camera. Walk back up the road and stand on the yellow line (trying to become a speed bump in the road I guess) and snap a picture. The roadster is idling just before a Montana state sign that says FLATHEAD COUNTY!!! The roadster just seems to fit in and I hope the picture comes out good. This is the county MTflat lives in! Back on the road and into Kalispell. Call MTflat and tell him where I am. He's a ways out and will take about a half hour to get to me. Spend the time washing the roadster and cleaning off bugs etc. MTflat pulls up and we meet. His name is Tim and is a preacher. We left his truck and took the roadster out to his church. It was built in the early 1900's by some super wood craftsman. Fantastic workmanship. Then out to his house to see his truck under construction. His log home is nestled in the pines. His truck is coming along and should be on the road this season. Said he's going to get it running with a stock engine and build up a mill later. Should be a great unit when he finishes. Getting late and we head back to Kalispell where I drop him off at his truck. I head south towards the Bozeman MT to see a friend I used to ride dirt bikes with years ago and who worked for me. We have lunch the next day and relive old times. Then I head south again. That night I call home to find my wife has injured her back and I'm needed home. The end is nearing.....
rumble seat: 7/1/2000 - 4:01:59
PM
Part 10A
Left out of Bozeman MT and headed south on US 191. Two lane road
and lots of rusty yard art in the ranches and farms along the
way. Nearly every one has pickup trucks and many are flathead
powered. One of the neat things about the two lane roads are they
go through small towns and the roadster almost always attracts
attention. I'm soon at the West gate to Yellowstone National Park.
Pay the stiff entry fee and continue south. Speed limit is almost
all 40-45mph. Yellow lines abound so I'm in a long line and plunk
along out of overdrive most of the time. Go by Old Faithful and
several of the park's famous sites without stopping. Stopped at
some boiling pots and take a look around. When I get back to the
car, there are several people around it. Spend about 10 minutes
answering questions and then I'm off again. A bear, not a grizzly,
crossed the road in front of the line I was in. People stopped
their cars, got out, and started following it on foot! Dumb! She
had a cub about a year old with her and they are unpredictable
at best in my book. They were within 30' of her at times! It was
shortly after this that the woman went to sleep and rolled her
car just in front of me. Sure seemed to take a long time to get
through the park at 40mph, but finally I go out the south gate.
The road turns to junk and it beats the poor old '34 unmercifully.
Those old buggy springs don't ride well to begin with and bad
roads really bring out the worst in them. But old Henry had worse
roads in mind than the one I was on so what do I know! It was
probably the worst road I encountered on the whole trip. I bounce
along towards (I hope) Jackson Hole WY. Signs are for tourist
sites only and don't have a sign showing a state or federal road
number. I guess they think everyone knows The Meadows (or whatever)
is on the way to Jackson Hole. I sure didn't. Finally get into
Jackson Hole about 3 hours after I thought I would. Thought I'd
spend the night until I saw a Best Western sign saying 'cheapest
rooms in town. $119 and up.' Sure changed my mine. Cranked it
up and headed south to a more affordable climate. Found a great
motel across a street from a huge lake. Stowed the luggage and
found a car wash. Cleaned the car and went to a restaurant the
cute motel manager had suggested. Fantastic steak and good service
too. Good sleeping, but I was restless and got up about 5 AM and
headed south on hgwy 191 into Rock Springs WY. Stopped there several
years ago coming back from Seattle and it got down to -37 degrees.
The wife's Honda barely fired next morning and I was up twice
during the night to warm it some to keep the oil from getting
too thick! Too cold for this old man. South into Utah and towards
Vernal. The last part of this saga will be forthcoming today....
rumble seat: 7/1/2000 - 5:50:35
PM
The end. Part 11
LAST ENTRY: In to Vernal UT. Turned east toward Rangely CO. My
parents lived there a short time while I was in the navy and I
wanted to see if the town had changed much. Besides there used
to be a neat two lane road between it and Meeker that was fun
to slide corners on! I love tight roads. But I take it easy on
trips. If I tear up something fooling around, it's tough to repair
on the road and get parts. But when I'm near home, it's a different
story! Rangely sure has changed. Could hardly find anything familar...
except the town cop! He followed my from one end of town to the
other. Same old BS as when I was home on leave in a customized
'48 Ford Convert (full house FH, dechromed and leaded in, louvred,
lowered, dual spots etc.) in the early 50's. Cleared town and
headed towards Meeker. The neat road is still there but they have
taken some of the tighter and fun curves out, but it's fresh black
top and smooth as glass. The sun is shining in a blue sky with
a temp of about 80 degrees. No wind... and NO traffic. The old
FH is singing it's song and live is good... better than in the
rain! LOVE IT! The miles go by and I'm about out of the twisty
section that I remember playing on in my '48 convert. A couple
of corners marked 35 mph and I start to get into it! The first
one I can hear the tires squeal a little on the fresh blacktop.
Alright! Kick it out of OD and hit the next one faster and the
'34 tires let out a howl of joy as they struggle for traction.
Back up into overdrive and past 65 mph and the next series of
gently turns. A few turns later there's one of the tighter corners
they left that's posted 30 mph. Too much to resist! I back off
and tap the juice binders, and slow to about 45 in OD to enter
it. I double clutch down from high OD into second OD and set up
for the right hander. The front wheels are barely on the right
edge of the asphalt. The roadster rear end starts sliding slightly
and I double clutch it down into low OD and jump on it. The rear
end shoots out to the left and I steer into the drift with the
steering wheel while my right foot controls the drift with stabs
of throttle. I've got my foot in it and the flathead is snarling
it's joy at being finally unleashed after all these miles and
the tires are howling. The rear tires are sliding big time and
the fronts are nearly full locked into the slide. God this is
fun, but hard on my new Michelins and the car. Sliding dirt corners
is a lot easier on the car. As I start exiting the corner and
I shift it up through second OD and into direct high gear and
then into high OD. FUN! I'm eagerly looking forward to several
more turns that I remember. But I come across a state cop coming
the other way just before another neat corner. So I cool it. Guess
what? Right. He pulls a U and follows me for the next 5 miles.
Just long enough so there aren't any more neat corners. Damn!
Wonder if the town cop had advised him 'one of them thar old hot
rod fools is aheading yore way!' Wouldn't surprise me... they
used to! Came up to the road fork outside of Meeker and turned
south to Rifle CO. Relatives on my wife's side live there. Stop
and say hi to one of her brothers for a short minute and a drink
of water. He's a good guy and used to drive a '36 convert in the
late 40's. Had a carbs, milled heads on a 221 engine with a Columbia
in it and it was the first OD I ever rode in. He used to be a
really hard driver (he later went into motorcycle racing until
he broke his back). Impressed me big time since his '36 would
run the peg in second OD. Then onto the interstate and down the
home stretch.... only 196 miles to go! Through Glenwood Springs
and their famous hot springs, up and over Vail Pass (about 11,000'
elev.) and into the town of Dillon. Then up to the 7 mile pull
of a steady 7% grade to the Eisenhower tunnel (9600'elev.) that
goes under the Continental Divide. The old FH pulled the grade
at 65mph in OD (2.64:1 ratio) and passed newer cars that were
struggling! Would you believe they all simply HAD to pass me going
down hill once we got over the hill! And no cops either. Go figure.
Down past Georgetown and up Floyd's Hill that's a real bear to
pull. Long and hard, but the old FH held a steady 60-65mph all
the way to the top. Down, down, down and into the west suburbs
of Denver to Lakewood. That's where I live. As I turned into the
street where I live I felt sad in a way. I had the best trip and
time of my life thanks to lots of you guys putting up with this
old man and spending time with me and living cars. And I didn't
want it to end..... and I like to think the roadster wasn't ready
to quit either. It was a fantastic trip and adventure (if you
will). And I'd like to thank all of you for putting up with this
long rehash of the trip. Final Notes: Sometime back, hotrod asked
how fast I had it on the trip. One time I was just tooling along
and listening to the pipes and the flathead on a two lane blacktop
when the needle hovered a little past 90 mph. It's not too stable
at that speed and I seldom drive it over 75-80 mph. But I did
wind it all the way out once in Texas. The needle came back and
bounced on the pin at 0! Interpolating, that's about 120 mph.
but it was bouncing, so it was probably maybe 115 mph. It was
still pulling so I'm guessing it might make 125 on a good day
with everything right. I've messed with the speedometer gears
and am running an 18 tooth speedometer drive gear with a 3.78
rear end with 235X15 tires. The speedometer has been calibrated
with these gears and tires. It is 1.5 mph fast from 35 to 75 mph.
So the speed it showed was fairly close. Also, I had an E-mail
asking what spare parts and tools etc. I carried. Spares include:
complete stock 6V dist, 2 coils, 2 stock condensers, 2 Mallory
condensers, 2 sets of Mallory points, new 6V voltage regulator,
set of new generator brushes, used 6V electric fuel pump, new
stock fuel pump, a couple of feet of 5/16 inch rubber fuel line,
2 cans of flat fix (don't carry a spare, jack or lug wrench),
2 bendix starter drives, 2 6V head light bulbs, 2 6V tail light
bulbs, a box of 25 amp fuses ('34's came with only a single fuse
and all circuits go thru it including the lights but excluding
the ignition). On the bench at home I've left two H2O pumps and
an axle with notes on them for my wife to mail me if I need them.
I take along the NSRA Fellow Pages in case I blow things up. I
always keep the same tools with me. They are all Craftsman, Snap-On
or other quality tools since I've had cheap tools fail when you
need them the most. This includes a VOM digital meter, a couple
of jumper wires, a tube of hand cleaner, a few assorted bolts
and nuts, a few assorted hose clamps, an assortment of plastic
zip locks, and several red rags. I also take along about a half
dozen towels (rain you know or to wear under a jacket if it's
really cold) and a bug sponge to clean the car daily and they
make neat fender covers too. The roadster, and my Ranchero, both
always have a good sized quality first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher,
and a blanket. Guess that's about it. Got to get ready to take
my 66 Falcon to Sacramento in a couple of weeks!!! So many roads.....so
little time! Stay flat and drive 'em.