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

[Sam69sat]

@Sam69sat​

I flew from Oregon to Kentucky to drive back a 69 Satellite i purchased. The route i took was about 2200 miles. I would love to do it again. I was definitely over my head driving that car back with my limited knowledge plus the fact the car hadn't been on the road for maybe 15 years or so i was told.

I did have a few issues on the way home. Very first was when i got on the road and hit the brakes. The car pulled hard right, dangerously hard! There was no way i was even going to make it out of town like that. I was really lucky the guy that helped me check out the car initially had a lift nearby at his home and told me to come on over. Turned out to be a bad front brake line but it was Easter Sunday afternoon and the parts stores were closed. Before i left home i ordered a few spare parts and had them shipped to the sellers home. As luck would have it, i bought a couple front brake lines! I can't imagine having to do that in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant with my limited tools and trying to bleed the brakes by myself. I would have been there forever.

Finally headed out of town the second day from Kentucky headed north towards Illinois. I took the backroads because i didn't know how things would go with the car and would rather be broke down on small country roads than an interstate. The car drove fine until i pulled into a tiny town Indiana town in the late afternoon for gas. When i pulled out of the station, the car wouldn't shift into 3rd so I pulled into a church parking lot to see if i could lookup possible issues on my phone. Transmission fluid looked fine on the dipstick. I though i might be screwed and then I remembered one of the members here mentioned making sure the kickdown linkage was all there and working before i started my trip. At the time, my knowleged of kickdown and auto transmissions was pretty much zero. I opened the hood and found the kickdown was there. Decided to push on the linkage not really knowing how the hell it worked and when i pressed down on it, it wouldn't spring back up. That didn't seem right so i limped to and O'reillys for a can of wd40. Sprayed the linkage pivot points and worked it til it sprang back up by itself. That was all it was. Sticky gummed up linkage. Shifted like normal after that.

Another issue was no brake lights or cigarette lighter which is really needed to charge a phone and have a map open. Someone had disconnected both. I connected the brake line but then the brake light would never go off. The brake pedal wouldn't come back far enough to reach the brake switch. I couldn't get the switch bracket adjusted and ended up rigging up a small pair of vice grips and some duct tape to make the pedal touch the switch. The cigarette lighter worked once i found the wire.

Replaced a fuel filter when it started running worse after a fillup. It seemed to get a little better but by the time i got to Boise, Idaho it would die everytime i stopped at an intersection if i didn't put it in neutral and give it a little throttle. I was close enough to home that i just lived with that issue. Also had to stop in Boise to change the drive side tire that had worn down to the steel. Yikes! Glad i stopped to check that.

I would love to do another road trip like that someday. I lucked out that i didn't have any major breakdowns. I'd feel a lot more comfortable doing a trip like that today now that i know a "little" more than i used to. Everytime i stopped people would come over to ask about the car. Got a lot of thumbs up and honks driving down the interstate too.

 

[Kern Dog]

THAT was you?
I could not remember who wrote about that. Would you please post a link to the thread about the trip?

 

[chargervert]

My friend Dave,who you met this weekend in the FBBO tent with me,flew to LA from Connecticut,bought a 66 Imperial,drove it to the container port. He picked up a 71 340 4 speed shaker hood equipped Cuda,and towed it back to Connecticut with a U Haul tow bar with the Imperial. He bought the non running Cuda from Hawaii, it was shipped to LA in a container, and he flat towed it over 3000 miles. He got stopped by the cops three times,none of them ever ever asked for paperwork on the unregistered Cuda,they all just wanted to check out the car! True story.

 

[chargervert]

My other friend Al,drove his 73 Dart from Pawtucket Rhode Island to Chicago,picked up route 66,drove across the southern US,to LA,picked up the Pacific Coast Highway,visited friends in northern California,then drove across the rockys back to Rhode Island. The round trip was 8800 miles.

 

[Kern Dog]

I've thought of driving this since it will be a great road car:

I try not to let the worst case scenario thoughts get to me but in the red car:

A tire blowout means trying to find an uncommon tire in an uncommon size. The Dart will have a 225-60-15 tire so it will surely be easier to find.
I have been thinking about how the closer one keeps a car to factory stock, the better time you'd have if something needs to be replaced. The Charger is a more comfortable car and will have working air conditioning though....

 

[chargervert]

My friend Al took his Dart because everywhere he takes his Charger,people keep him talking for hours. It would have taken a year to make the 8800 mile trip!

 

[71RRHI]

My friend Dave,who you met this weekend in the FBBO tent with me,flew to LA from Connecticut,bought a 66 Imperial,drove it to the container port. He picked up a 71 340 4 speed shaker hood equipped Cuda,and towed it back to Connecticut with a U Haul tow bar with the Imperial. He bought the non running Cuda from Hawaii, it was shipped to LA in a container, and he flat towed it over 3000 miles. He got stopped by the cops three times,none of them ever ever asked for paperwork on the unregistered Cuda,they all just wanted to check out the car! True story.

View attachment 1885130

@chargervert is that the one that had the trunk floor and shock cross member cut out.

 

[chargervert]

Yes

 

[HawkRod]

I've thought of driving this since it will be a great road car:

View attachment 1885125

I try not to let the worst case scenario thoughts get to me but in the red car:

View attachment 1885126

A tire blowout means trying to find an uncommon tire in an uncommon size. The Dart will have a 225-60-15 tire so it will surely be easier to find.
I have been thinking about how the closer one keeps a car to factory stock, the better time you'd have if something needs to be replaced. The Charger is a more comfortable car and will have working air conditioning though....

To me, the most important aspect is that a car is "well sorted". I'd much more trust Ginger than the Dart. You have 18s on the Charger? Those tires might be more common than 15" tires. Plus, tires today are extremely reliable. The chance of needing a tire replacement is really very low.

Overall, the main thing you need if you go across country is a positive attitude. It can be done. Bring some tools and a few well thought out parts, then deal with whatever may come up. Nothing in life is certain - don't let "what if" fears stop a great adventure.

 

[Armyvet25]

My first 71 Charger was my daily, N15's pro trac, 383 4spd, Colorado Springs to Cleveland then to Braxton county WV and return. Drove in the winter, up the mountains etc

 

[68BabyBlue]

To me, the most important aspect is that a car is "well sorted". I'd much more trust Ginger than the Dart. You have 18s on the Charger? Those tires might be more common than 15" tires. Plus, tires today are extremely reliable. The chance of needing a tire replacement is really very low.

Overall, the main thing you need if you go across country is a positive attitude. It can be done. Bring some tools and a few well thought out parts, then deal with whatever may come up. Nothing in life is certain - don't let "what if" fears stop a great adventure.

I'm leaning with Hawk on car choice. I got lucky driving the Imperial. I bought a '79 Cadillac Seville in Phoenix the following year, and that trip was a nightmare. Similar car status, old lady owned, well maintained. It was well sorted out by the time I made it back to Chicago. On the way, I discovered the fuel pick up tube would not draw gas once the tank was half way down, result of a pin hole leak. I paid a tow bill 20 miles after I started the trip.. The pinion seal was dried out from the Arizona heat. I found out in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on Easter Sunday, when I pulled into a gas station to have the grease level checked when the rear started to whine. No grease, and a pumpkin full of shavings. My wife didn't have a sense of humor when she had to wire $1000 to me on western union. The silver lining was the garage owner had a buddy who owned a local junkyard. He pulled a fresh rear, and got me going in less than half a day. Of course the car ran trouble free for the next three years after that shake out run.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive my GTX coast to coast at this point, but it gave me major trouble with over heating on my first trip to Carlisle two years ago, after it came out of a 28 year period of only being driven to local shows. Watching your threads on Ginger, I think that car is the ideal candidate for a long haul. Air conditioning, and an overdrive transmission represent an exponential improvement over any standard issue Mopar of the era. The Dart would perhaps be a better candidate, if it was sorted, and equipped with A/C.

In 1973, my dad bought his first special order, brand new Mopar, a Dart sedan loaded with every available option, window sticker nearly $4000, a huge sum for my frugal father. I handled the driving, on a trip from State College, to a conference dad attended in Fort Collins, Colorado. This was the first Mopar I ever drove with A/C. The difference in this trip compared to the trek in the old '56 Dodge wagon nine years earlier was unreal. So maybe you want to put A/C in the Dart, and spent the next year sorting it out. Either way, it will make a great story.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Back in the day I made multiple trips from MD to the FL keys for breaks/vacations, in my 72 Satellite wagon - both in stock form (318/904/3.23SG) and modified (360/380 crate motor, dual 3" exhaust, reverse-manual 727, and the same rear). 1100 miles each way. Summer trips (no a/c) and winter trips (sideways on I95 in 6" of snow, get it straight, and the cb crackles "NICE recovery!"). Winter was when I learned that sealed beam headlights ice up in blizzard conditions...

I always have at least a tool roll with me. A voltage regulator. A bouquet of zip ties and a couple rolls of electrical tape and duct tape. One or two old metal coat hangers. Anything else I can get at a store.

If your car wears oddball stuff (tires), either have a set at home ready for a neighbor to ship to you, or put on stock stuff for the trip.

I also do long motorcycle trips pretty frequently. (All from MD) - Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgia, southern West Virginia, upstate NY, north Florida....same thing. Tool roll, zip ties, tape, spark plugs, a spare liter of fuel in an MSR fuel bottle...and lots of spare socks. Nothing worse than hours and hours of wet socks after getting caught in the rain....

Last summer I rebuilt a bike I'd had for about 10 years as I accumulated parts for it (a fairly rare - one of 13 built - 1998 bike - doesn't sound like much but that's a nearly 30 year old motorcycle now). Ran a third of a tank of gas through it (50 or so miles) as a shakedown...and took it on a 1300 mile weekend run to western West Virginia and Ohio with some friends. Knee-dragging, hard-running, AGGRESSIVE miles. Zero component replacements, although I did spend 45 minutes on the median in WV disassembling and cleaning the contacts in my run/stop switch because at 95mph it decided to.... stop. The contacts had green hair on them. Cleaned them up...fine ever since.

If you can think on your feet, and you know your vehicle...it's something you should do. Definitely.

 

[ckessel]

I would imagine that if a vehicle is good to go after a 3 hour or so drive with no stops other than gas, you're good to go for longer. The first time I drove my wagon was when I paid for it and drove it home from the Thousand Oaks area. No problems.

 

[matthon]

Just did 2,500 miles for Power Tour 2025.
383 tunnel ram 4 speed.
Swapped the A833 for an OD A833 before the trip.

 

[71RRHI]

Yes

I remember looking at that one when it was forsale. The owner cut out the trunk and cross member he was planning on tubbing it. I always wondered what happened to that car since I never saw it again all these years.

 

[Sam69sat]

THAT was you?
I could not remember who wrote about that. Would you please post a link to the thread about the trip?

Here's the link to my trip.

Am i crazy (Driving 69 Satellite from Kentucky to Oregon)?

Hey guys/gals, I'm the proud new owner of a 69 Satellite. Been looking for one for a long time up here in the Northwest but couldn't find any. I ended up locating one down in Kentucky and found fellow car enthusiast who agreed to go look at it for me. I ended up buying it but now i have to get...

www.forbbodiesonly.com

Someone on fabo is planning a cross country trip in a valiant. It looks like the same valiant on youtube Dead Dodge Garage from about a year ago.

Travel tools

I am preparing to travel to Washington state to pick up my 383 Valiant and was wondering what size sockets and wrenches to take with me. I am driving back to Florida. I am limited to 100 lbs of luggage on the train so eliminating unneeded sizes would be good. The aluminum floor jack and jack...

www.forabodiesonly.com

 

[Unkle Krusty]

The pic at left, is of the Tukvan next to the Arctic Ocean sign.
About 1000 miles of the road is gravel, some of it shale rock.
Small tyres and rims get destroyed. We use ten ply tyres.
The suspension gets a work out. Shocks get their last ride.
Since that trip, I have added an extra rear leaf spring, and four new shocks, and much more.

 

[Hikin Mike]

I'm originally from the Pittsburgh PA area. My Coronet was my uncle's car new, and he sold it to his dad (my grandfather). When my grandfather sold it to me, my wife and I flew from CA to PA and we drove it back. Previously the car had sat for two years in the garage. Got a new battery and off we went. Everything was fine until we got to Fenton Missouri. I remember seeing the plant and shortly after that the car started overheating. Found a motel that night and called a tow truck the next day. Wish I remembered the shop we took it to because they did a great job. They found and replaced several freeze plugs and got us moving again that afternoon. I think the only other issue was a voltage regulator going out, but I fixed that one.

Would I do it again now? No. I don't have the disposable income to do this again, at least that far from home.

 

[Dennis H]

Recently got stuck in construction traffic in Georgia. Modern car. At 99 degrees ambient we sat for over one hour in stopped traffic. Don’t think the Coronet would have survived that circumstance.
The heat on the highway surface had to be well over that. Standard shift in the creep/inching stage as well.

At home, sea level and about 70 degrees no problem. There really is no shake down that would replicate that. Travel in Fall and Spring would help, but then risk snow in the mountains. Even well into summer in the Sierras.

 

[440 4 speed]

On our trip to TDC Meet in Aurora in 93. The 383 car sat in 104F at the river waiting to cross at Kansas City.The 22 inch rad had been record. Some one had forgot to add antifreeze.
The 440 with the 26 inch rad with antifreeze pulled the camper. Neither overheated. Both cars got quit warm with black interiors.
Was having a problem with the 440 stumbling under acceleration. On the way home I thought it might be a distributor problem. Stopped at a parts store in Lincoln NB. Didn’t have one but a staff member had a used in a Highway patrol car. Went home got it and we were on our way. Problem was still there, just step on it hard. We had a fuel smell on the whole trip.
My wife described it as a gas smelling go kart that could pass almost anything. Got home, I changed the fuel pump rod. Didn’t help much. A little later we took it to the track and is where we found a crack in the fuel line which resulted sucking in air. Changed that and we were fine.