Who has dared to drive across country in a classic Mopar?

[Kern Dog]

A two stroke 440? Does it rev higher than a regular one?

 

[Dennis H]

Hello. Allentown, Gulfport…San Jose, Los Angeles.

 

[Budnicks]

At 16 y/o (just turned 16) left in later July 1975, summer my sophomore year,
I drove my 68 Charger R/T, to Sands, Michigan,
from Concord, Calif., during summer break, like 2 weeks...
I remember I had just bought & put new bias-ply Parnelli Jones,
some Polyglass GT, G60s & N50s/on 15" Cragers on my car...
Drove 1900-ish miles each way, to see my sister Candy in the USAF
& my 1st relatively newborn, almost 1 year old nephew Keith,
on the upper tip of the Peninsula, lakeside...
& Back home, it was like 4,000+ miles, in total, I put on the trip...
Slept by the side of the road in a sleeping bag, with a tarp, jacket for a pillow (& a .22 hand gun),
I had bought a loaf of bread & had some Coca Cola in a cooler, on ice
with some salami & cheese IIRC...

I averaged like 80mph most of the way too, not in or near towns, or speed-traps
mostly lil' rural towns, man there was a lot of them back then...
This was when (shortly after) the 55mph speed limit was 1st nation wide IIRC

Reg. '91' octane leaded gas was like $0.59 cents, in Concord
I got like 13 mpg average, 750vs 3310 Holley with that 440 3.55:1 gears,
had a Norris .477"/294* duration (@ 1.5:1)
it was 0.508" gvl with 1.6:1 adj ductile iron Crane rockers
had, Rhodes variable duration lifters/anti-pump ups & a B&M Holeshot converter
typical mid seventy's kids car...
I had a Union 76 fuel card, my parents helped me get...
('I paid for', they never paid any of it)
I could NOT afford to buy Super/Ethyl 99 or their killer 101 oct. ...
IIRC, I think spent $290-ish on fuel alone, a few bucks ($5 maybe ?)
on a couple quarts of oil, it used like 4 quarts of oil the whole trip...

I only had $500 with me, most all my savings, from working at Paul Petterson Shell
@ $1.65 an hr, with tips, like $10-15 day tips, mostly filling trucks
but, I tried to use a Union 76 card for gas mostly,
wasn't as many of the Union 76 stations, back then as I hoped...

I remember that I could go about 240-ish miles 'per fill up' & be safe,
as long as I wasn't climbing any grades...
I'd have maybe a gallon or 2 so left, the gauge wasn't all that accurate,
1st half when full, would go slow, second half to empty would go really quick...

I do remember some places it was like $0.69-$0.79 cents for reg.
I was wondering If I was going to have enough money to get back home
& some shitty brand no name brand station I never heard of...
I though Calif. was bad & I thought that was highway robbery
what a rip off...

When I got away from the interstate on back roads, it was a bit cheaper,
but less convenient...

Barely had enough $$ to make it there & back, memorable trip for a teen for sure...
Got some trinkets on the way, I was sort of broke, worried a bit on my way back...
Not really any memorable breakage, did get water in some crappy fuel/gas off hwy-80,
heading there & same thing, right outside of Eisenhower tunnel entrance, Colorado...
My car started to sputter & spit bad, from bad fuel/water in gas, probably the altitude too,
from the gas/fuel at like $0.69 a gal., I got farther down the mountain before doing the climb...

Also had to file & re-gap points too, on my way home, just after the Rockies
I also sand/chipped the carbon off the contacts inside the dist. cap/off the rotor,
when it started running bad
& when I got home & I changed the condenser too...

edited, added;
My Mom didn't want me to do it alone, my stepdad Bob said;
let him go he's got money & a gas card, it's a right of passage, that makes him a man...
Or something along those lines

 

[Budnicks]

I did a trip to Alaska (I was like 25 1st time), did it a few times,
but that 1st was in a near new 84 Toyota SR5 4wd, 3,100+ mile each way
AlCan Hwy, still an adventure, all that wide WILD open country...
The 2nd time back coming was in a
77 Plymouth TrailDuster 4x4, 400, 650 Holley 4bbl Torker & headers, cam, duals
lifted/Q78 (35") tires & a 4 speed, w/4.10:1

1st time up, it was near winter too later Sept., got cold, snow & Ice
driving up the 1st time, & to a place, a place I never was before,
even through a different country, BC & Yukon Territory...
Crossed into Alaska at/near Toke Junction Alaska, from Yukon...
They watched me like a hawk, Canadian police or locals PoPo
followed me, or paced me, along side me, thru near every lil' town I went thru...
Like I was some criminal
I was careful to not speed, having Calif. plate & all...
That's, because I knew why they were doing it...
I was told about the speed trap stings for non-Canadians, in them smaller towns...
(it's KPH too not MPH)
Again 1st time, I went up to see my same sister Candy (same one as story above)
in Anchorage/at Elmendorf AFB now, see her new daughter/my new niece Sabrina...
I ended up moving up there for a few years, right after that...

Second time was towing all my stuff & fully loaded trailer & 77 TrailDuster
back to Concord...
No trouble at all, just had to add a bit of gear oil & engine oil...

I did a lot of trips in my nice tow rigs back & forth, that was more like glamping
while going to IHRA, NHRA, SCTA, AHRA, Nostalgia/Goodguys stuff too,
lots of match races & displays at Checkers Schucks & Kragens store in between...
I think I've been across back & forth, like some 14-15 (?) times, in 45+ years...
Now I will 'hardly ever', leave the dang county even...
Mostly uneventful, just miles on the hwy, stopping at trucks stops
for they make the best "biscuits & gravy in the mornings
or chicken fried steak dinners" in the evenings...
When it was already made on the road, when Lisa came or the girls or boys came along...

Nothing like that 1st trip alone at 16, in a 68 Charger, it made me sort of fearless
to step out & go see & drive places...

 

[Jeff Peterson]

@Sam69sat​

 

[T2R9]

In 94 after I got out of the Navy in San Diego I installed a hitch on my 70 Dart Swinger 340 and rented a U-Haul loaded with two 340's and all my tools and headed to Maine. Hit the road late and stayed in Bakersfield overnight and the next day I was rolling through Arizona when I decided to hit a rest stop, went to slow down and no brakes, went to pull the parking brake and it was still on from my spot in Bakersfield. I was able to drop it to low roll to a stop. Looked under and wet drums. I milked it to the next exit and found a parts store and changed the wheel cylinders and blead the brakes in the parking lot. Good thing I had a trailer full of tools! They were spongy after that but worked. My back was also tweaked from loading the tool box but I made it to Maine with spongy breaks and a knot in my back in 4 days.

 

[Kern Dog]

That is GREAT!
I love hearing of how people overcame their breakdowns.

 

[kiwigtx]

Before returning to New Zealand back in 1997, my wife and I travelled for 8 weeks around Europe in our 1981 V8 powered Range Rover - 4-speed manual + overdrive. The only issue we had was the spring catch on the fuel filler flap broke high up in the Pyrenees, and we had to try and track down a replacement when we made it to France.
Awesome trip in an older vehicle....not a muscle car, but it drank gas like one....and we were two of the few Kiwi's who travelled Europe in something other than a VW Kombi or a double-decker bus. That V8 hauled *** up the mountain passes and was never beaten on mud or grass thanks to the 4WD.
I think Sweden had the most expensive gas prices at the time. Only had one speeding ticket - in Norway.....I suspect the cop was looking at our UK plates and followed us. Paid on the spot....he wanted cash. Total trip was about 9,500 miles.....with not a single puncture.

 

[T2R9]

Just looked it up. The route I took was 3,234 miles.

 

[Budnicks]

with not a single puncture.

Now that sounds something like me,
if I did they'd be blurry Polaroids anyway...

I did have some 35mm photos developed, like 3 rolls
of my 1st trip to Alaska & I have no clue where they are now...
2 rolls of wildlife alone, big brown bears/grizzly's, moose, deer, dahl sheep etc.
1 roll was Aurora Borealis (? spell) stuff, the northern lights was cool as heck...
1st I had ever seen them...

 

[Roadcuda]

There is a gentleman who's a member of the Plymouth owners club with a 1953 Plymouth that he and his wife have driven from either Oregon or Washington across country several times. IIRC one trip they also went to Maine, so completely across country. He did have problems along the way but he was always able to get the problem repaired. So it would seem to me that if he can do that in a 70 plus year old car your 50 yrs old car should be capable to do the trip.

 

[68BabyBlue]

There is a gentleman who's a member of the Plymouth owners club with a 1953 Plymouth that he and his wife have driven from either Oregon or Washington across country several times. IIRC one trip they also went to Maine, so completely across country. He did have problems along the way but he was always able to get the problem repaired. So it would seem to me that if he can do that in a 70 plus year old car your 50 yrs old car should be capable to do the trip.

In 1964, my dad packed the family in an eight year old ‘56 Dodge Sierra wagon, and we drove from central PA to Nova Scotia and back. Had an electrical issue with a coil wire, but we made it home with a roll of electrical tape.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

Did a 3900 mile trip in this last year. Plan on about the same in October

 

[Budnicks]

I really admire the guys on Roadkill Garage & Roadkill
they go buy some clapped out/worn out POS
& drive it across the country, with no hesitation
Yeah I know they have a killer budget to do it too
have a support van TV crew/van following in tow too
but;
I admire that when someone will step outside of comfort levels
especially like we have today, too comfy almost, to do such things
& entertain us while they're at it...

Showing us what they did along the way...

Not a huge fan of clapped out cars, at all, or the rust & no interiors
**** paintjobs, look like POSs, but I like their spirit & go get it attitudes
it doesn't phase them...

 

[toolmanmike]

Just 4 hours north for me so no cross country trips. My old cars aren't that comfortable to drive that far. Or may be it's my 70 year old chassis that doesn't like to drive that far in one. Probably some of both issues.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I guess if this guy can do it................

Man travels 3,600 miles across US along Route 66 in 1929 Ford Model A

Ryan Tebo, a 30-year-old New Hampshire native, drove across Route 66 in a 1929 Ford Model A, starting in Chicago, Illinois on August 13 and ending in Santa Monica, California on August 22.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[mmissile]

I drove MANY from LA to Detroit in the early 80's. You might say I had a business, doing it. This was before the transport companies, caught on...

 

[furious70]

I drove MANY from LA to Detroit in the early 80's. You might say I had a business, doing it. This was before the transport companies, caught on...

White challengers and white powder business? Reverse trip tho I guess...=)

 

[jimbosride]

I once went 40 miles across the Blazing desert of Las Vegas in 1982 where I bought this road runner.

Only had one little issue with a wheel bearing. But that's when I learned about the " Righty Loose, Lefty tighty ??? " Mopar lug nut rules.

Here is the same car last week on the rack.

 

[440 4 speed]

I did a trip to Alaska (I was like 25 1st time), did it a few times,
but that 1st was in a near new 84 Toyota SR5 4wd, 3,100+ mile each way
AlCan Hwy, still an adventure, all that wide WILD open country...
The 2nd time back coming was in a
77 Plymouth TrailDuster 4x4, 400, 650 Holley 4bbl Torker & headers, cam, duals
lifted/Q78 (35") tires & a 4 speed, w/4.10:1

1st time up, it was near winter too later Sept., got cold, snow & Ice
driving up the 1st time, & to a place, a place I never was before,
even through a different country, BC & Yukon Territory...
Crossed into Alaska at/near Toke Junction Alaska, from Yukon...
They watched me like a hawk, Canadian police or locals PoPo
followed me, or paced me, along side me, thru near every lil' town I went thru...
Like I was some criminal
I was careful to not speed, having Calif. plate & all...
That's, because I knew why they were doing it...
I was told about the speed trap stings for non-Canadians, in them smaller towns...
(it's KPH too not MPH)
Again 1st time, I went up to see my same sister Candy (same one as story above)
in Anchorage/at Elmendorf AFB now, see her new daughter/my new niece Sabrina...
I ended up moving up there for a few years, right after that...

Second time was towing all my stuff & fully loaded trailer & 77 TrailDuster
back to Concord...
No trouble at all, just had to add a bit of gear oil & engine oil...

I did a lot of trips in my nice tow rigs back & forth, that was more like glamping
while going to IHRA, NHRA, SCTA, AHRA, Nostalgia/Goodguys stuff too,
lots of match races & displays at Checkers Schucks & Kragens store in between...
I think I've been across back & forth, like some 14-15 (?) times, in 45+ years...
Now I will 'hardly ever', leave the dang county even...
Mostly uneventful, just miles on the hwy, stopping at trucks stops
for they make the best "biscuits & gravy in the mornings
or chicken fried steak dinners" in the evenings...
When it was already made on the road, when Lisa came or the girls or boys came along...

Nothing like that 1st trip alone at 16, in a 68 Charger, it made me sort of fearless
to step out & go see & drive places...

They were looking for any speeders, not exclusively tourists>