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

[69Bee]

Finished the car in June '90 and drove it from Ft. Huachuca AZ to Ft. Myers FL, Ft. Myers FL to Baltimore MD, Baltimore to Petosky MI and back to Baltimore to put it on the boat PCS'ing back to Germany. Picked it up in Bremerhaven FRG and drove it all over Germany for 2 years, then back to the USA. Drove it from Baltimore MD to Clarksville TN (Ft. Campbell) then trailered it back to AZ when I got out of the military. AZ to NM a few times, then AZ to CO when the "X" made me move. Then CO to FL where I eventually sold it due to divorce. It was a good run from '88 to '08ish... Only issues I can remember is a broken valve spring and a thermostat stuck closed.

 

[Greg Ducato]

I drove my 1967 Hemi Satellite convertible from Texas to The Nats in Columbus Ohio and back about 12 years ago. It was originally a 383 4 speed car but was professionally built with a 426 hemi 5 speed conversion and with an Accell EFI system ( a separate chapter unto itself) . It was a really beautiful new build car that left me stranded no less than 5 times and included a 300 mile wrecker ride at one point. I was with an old friend and we made the best of it but it was a challenge to keep my humor up by the end of trip.

I drove a friends Lil Red Express Truck from Texas to Northern New Jersey twice, once after a swap to a small block stroker and the next with an automatic overdrive conversion. Other than a couple of fuel filter changes due to an old tank we had zero problems on either trip.

I also drove an old friends one owner 1979 Magnum with 500 inch big block stroker from Texas to the Tampa Bay area of Florida after we did an overdrive conversion, this one also required a few fuel filter swaps along the way but was otherwise uneventful.

I have that same Magnum at my place in Texas again and we have done some more work to it, suspension, steering, rear end gear swap etc etc. I'll be driving this one back to Florida again this coming fall so apparently I still haven't learned my lesson.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I've driven my 68 Sport Satellite from San Jose to LA round trip twice. (1000+ miles RT). Caravan'd with 3 other Mopars from FBBO and FABO. No issues 1st trips. 2nd trip a strange tat-tat-tat sound cropped up about an hour into the drive. Roadside trouble-shooting with the other 3 looking on. 1 of the 4 of us is very knowledgeable. He thought it was a lifter. Took off Valve Cover, checked, all good. He replaced for me and a corner ear of the valve cover broke off (I later learned from Summit Racing that the cast Mopar valve covers originally bolted to my cast iron manifolds, then unbolted and re-bolted to my new aluminum Edelbrock heads, likely caused this due to differences in head flatness and the mopar covers being cast). Luckily, O'reilleys is within sight 2 blocks away. I walk there and buy a new gasket and some JB weld. Valve cover repaired and re-installed. Closer inspection revealed 2 loose header bolts. I had just installed the headers a few months prior. Tightened them up, sound is gone, and off we went. Upon arriving to Willow Springs Raceway, I road raced 4 heats of 5 laps ea, 5 drag race passes and made it back home without issue. I have A/C in the car now and everything is sorted. If I can install newer reclining seats I might attempt a longer trip.

In my newer cars and rentals I've road tripped from northern CA to Austin, TX and back and from northern CA to Vancouver, Canada and back. No issues on the Canada trip. The trip to TX was another story. Driving through New Mexico at night approaching Roswell on 2 lane roads, SOOOOO many rabbits would run across the road at the last minute. There was no time to stop. We slowed down, but rabbits kept a'coming. I estimate we ran over at least 20 in a 10 mile stretch. Don't forget that wildlife hazards can be a probable issue once you get out of the major cities and put some miles behind you. I carry zip ties now for underside damage repair.

 

[chargervert]

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.

The picture of the car I posted was taken in my garage. That is my yellow 71 340 Cuda next to it. I replaced the shock crossmember and the end of the drivers side rear framerail for him. He ended up trading the car for a 440 Sixpack 4 speed, real V code matching numbers Challenger R/T. The Cuda is in the midwest US these days. The Cuda had all the original shaker hood assembly and the matching numbers 340 engine and 4 speed transmission too.

 

[LB0442]

I worked for the post office for 28 years and they have a training center in Norman OK. I made the trip From Idaho twice with the 78 trans am and once with the 73 Road Runner. Both have A/C and cruise control (I added the factory setup to the Road Runner).

Here are a few pictures of the trans am on route 66. First one is Davenport OK then Chandler OK, I think??

Every time I drive the Road Runner and pull into a gas station, I mean every time someone will come up and say they had one exactly like that only it had a hemi.

 

[CoronetDarter]

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.

I was thinking along the same lines. Greg and I have both driven our cars down to Van Nuys and back, about 1,000 miles, with no drama. For me, the a/c would have to work and I'd want an amplifier for my head unit. But other than that, I'm confident that both the Dart and Coronet could handle a cross country trip.
The other important feature is having the right copilot ride along. As much as my wife enjoys the road trips down to Spring Fling, it would have to be another guy riding shotgun cross country. Guys will put up with greater inconveniences than most women will, and there might be times when under car repairs are necessary.

 

[ckessel]

My wife is great on trips. But that one doing the PT would have been a huge no go due to high ambient temps with no a/c. So...in the future, a/c will get put in. After it gets rewired etc. Not about to add new stuff to old.

 

[Kern Dog]

I was thinking along the same lines. Greg and I have both driven our cars down to Van Nuys and back, about 1,000 miles, with no drama. For me, the a/c would have to work and I'd want an amplifier for my head unit. But other than that, I'm confident that both the Dart and Coronet could handle a cross country trip.
The other important feature is having the right copilot ride along. As much as my wife enjoys the road trips down to Spring Fling, it would have to be another guy riding shotgun cross country. Guys will put up with greater inconveniences than most women will, and there might be times when under car repairs are necessary.

Rare is the woman that will put up with inadequate or non functioning A/C, exhaust noise, vibrations and weird car smells like a hard core car guy will.
I'm grateful for Mary being supportive and joining in as I am sure that you are with your wife.
I know when I'm getting close to pressing the limits for what she would be willing to do. I'll bet that you know how far you can go as well.
If this happens, I think that it would most likely be with me and another guy, maybe even three guys! Your car? My car? Who knows?

 

[71RRHI]

Rare is the woman that will put up with inadequate or non functioning A/C, exhaust noise, vibrations and weird car smells like a hard core car guy will.
I'm grateful for Mary being supportive and joining in as I am sure that you are with your wife.
I know when I'm getting close to pressing the limits for what she would be willing to do. I'll bet that you know how far you can go as well.
If this happens, I think that it would most likely be with me and another guy, maybe even three guys! Your car? My car? Who knows?

I'm thinking three guys is going to make a cross country trip too tight. Spare tire and tools in the trunk, doesn't leave alot of room. Figure a small to medium suitcase for clothes per person. You'll probably want a small cooler for water/drinks and snacks.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I'm thinking three guys is going to make a cross country trip too tight. Spare tire and tools in the trunk, doesn't leave alot of room. Figure a small to medium suitcase for clothes per person. You'll probably want a small cooler for water/drinks and snacks.

The solution...

 

[Kern Dog]

What if the trip were in one of these?

Kidding, of course!
My mind has been pondering this road trip idea since Saturday. This morning the thought of clothes and laundry went through my head. Do hotels have laundromats?

You know it won't be a direct route... There are places along the way that must be visited that will pull you off your route... So, the 5200 mile trip will be 6000-6500... You could dream about averaging 500 miles a day but honestly most days 350 would be realistic & there are gonna be days spent going to museums or racetracks... Or the Grand Canyon, or visiting FBBO members... Or dealing with car issues...

You'd know better than I would. I did average well over 500 miles a day in 2006 in my truck.

Figure a minimum of 25 days on the road not counting hitting Carlisle... Or possibly hitting the Mopar nationals along the way...

I'm not calling you out but I find the 25 day number to be hard to believe.

Now, lets consider the weather, seems like I was reading about a member trying to get home from Carlisle yesterday that had to detour around a few floods... How many crazy weather incidences would you catch spending a month driving coast to coast and back?

My concerns keep going to the thought of high elevations and how the car will run.

6000 miles of not the best seats, $4 a gallon gas, sleeping in the car or a tent, questionable hotels & food poisoning...

My seats are extremely comfortable to me. Mary loves them. They are from a Neon SRT 4.
I will not sleep in a friggin tent unless I have absolutely no other options. Years in construction pretty much made me immune from food poisoning since I ate so much dirt and sawdust for years.

 

[71RRHI]

Most hotels have rooms with two beds, with three guys some one sleeping on the floor, or two are sharing a bed. I don't know about you, but I'm not sharing a bed with another guy.

 

[Kern Dog]

What if he promises to keep his pants on the whole time?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

My mind has been pondering this road trip idea since Saturday. This morning the thought of clothes and laundry went through my head. Do hotels have laundromats?



You'd know better than I would. I did average well over 500 miles a day in 2006 in my truck.

500 miles is certainly doable but that's eight hours in a car... It will get old... I prefer to make stops along the way to actually see more of what you are travelling through...

I'm not calling you out but I find the 25 day number to be hard to believe

As mentioned in my earlier post realistically the trip will probably be 6500-7000 miles.... Averaging 350 miles a day your looking at 18-20 days... You haven't stopped to visit a single attraction yet.... Or simply a day to rest & stretch while doing laundry... Or do maintenance....

 

[1 Wild R/T]

What if he promises to keep his pants on the whole time?

In my younger days we would slide the mattress off the box springs and suddenly room for four...

 

[71RRHI]

Awesome movie, hopefully Kerndogs trip goes smoother than that

 

[ckessel]

You can easily find a laundromat in the city/town you're staying in. And as Randy pointed out, you're most likely not driving 6+ hours at a whack. There are many things to see on the way to the destination, especially if you route it with those intentions. Those detours take time, so you may get less than 250 miles in a day. Pack enough clothes etc for 5 days of wear but maybe stay ahead of it by washing every 3rd or 4th day. Gives you some leeway. Darren was wanting to do the main PT this year which is a week long. Figured at the minimum, you add a week on each end of that for travel there and back. From there, what's to see both ways? More time to add on. What if you've had enough with the driving and decide to take a day off? Like a stop at Mt Rushmore for the day? Being gone, for me, 3 weeks from home was a no go. Not going to play while my wife is at home taking care of the homestead with my duties on top of that. But we're thinking of a roadtrip to Mt Rushmore and back sometime with Grand Coulee Dam, Yellowstone and several other stops. We'll pack up the dogs, once the cats have passed away, and check things out. With the pooches, we'll need to stop every couple of hours for pee breaks, stretch the legs, do some looky loo around us, then continue on.

 

[68BabyBlue]

The solution...

View attachment 1885885

I did things backwards. I drove my '66 Imperial from California to Chicago solo. Twenty years later, I took my friend Bob as a co-pilot for a 1500 mile ride in a non-a/c, 3:54 dana GTX. He appreciated the fact we weren't riding in his '68 Camaro. He said the GTX was in a different universe, both then and now. Lucky for me, both of us were there back in the day, and we had reasonable expectations for our comfort level, or lack of it, on that trip.

 

[440 4 speed]

Rare is the woman that will put up with inadequate or non functioning A/C, exhaust noise, vibrations and weird car smells like a hard core car guy will.
I'm grateful for Mary being supportive and joining in as I am sure that you are with your wife.
I know when I'm getting close to pressing the limits for what she would be willing to do. I'll bet that you know how far you can go as well.
If this happens, I think that it would most likely be with me and another guy, maybe even three guys! Your car? My car? Who knows?

I guess I am married to a rare one. She has always been ready for the long drives to car shows and sight seeing trips.

 

[SlingLow]

Back in the late 80s I drove my buddy's early 80s Power Wagon from Vancouver, WA to Austin, TX. He had moved there and left it with me to sell. When it didn't sell right away, he asked if I would drive it down to him. He paid for fuel and bought me a plane ticket home. I made it without incident in 3 days, plus a day off in Salt Lake City for a round of golf with another buddy.

In the mid 80s I rode along with a buddy from Las Vegas to Vancouver, WA in his 64 Sport Fury. It had a worn out 440 in it that burned cases of oil. We towed an 80s Capri he was building into a drag car behind it that had the motor removed. We put plywood in the engine compartment and loaded a disassembled 440 engine that he planned to rebuild for the Fury into it. The disassembled Capri motor was in the trunk of the Fury. We removed the quarter glass and had his waterbed frame sticking out both sides. He was moving north and we filled both cars with all of his possessions. We would stop every 50-100 miles and while he walked up to open the hood, I walked back to the trunk of the Capri. He would shout out what he needed which was either 1 quart and 1 STP (50-75 miles) or 2 quarts and an STP. (75 -100 miles). I would grab the cans and toss them to him past both cars. The only stop for sleep was somewhere between Susanville, CA and Shasta City in the mountains. We stopped late at night on what we thought was a deserted stretch of road and backed up into a wide spot. When we woke up and got out of the car we found a mailbox at a 45 degree angle sticking out from the rear bumper of the Capri. He had backed into it without realizing it. We did straghten it up before leaving.