Drive to Carlisle

[66FBCharger]

How many members are planning to drive their Chargers to Carlisle?
I am planning on driving my '69 and my buddy is planning on driving his '68 Dart GTS. I am looking forward to it. Back in the '80s we used to actually drive our cars to shows and most everyone did also. The cars that were trailered were only a few.
As I get older, I am more interested in driving and enjoying the cars than cleaning and polishing them.

[Dino]

That would be about a 9 hour trip for me so yeah I'd drive the Charger, but I'm not going so moot point.

[Cooter]

Going, but will NOT be driving 4 hours. All that "Drive 'em" talk if fine and dandy until your sitting on the side of The Interstate with idiots on Cell phones blowing by your pride and joy, trying to hopefully find someone to stop and help you get to a parts store and repair it.


No thanks.

[bakerhillpins]

Bah!  where is your sense of adventure Cooter? 

I am seriously considering it but the fact is that I haven't had any time to tinker with the Charger. It's running well enough but who knows. It's a 7+ hr trip for me. It would be awesome to make the trip down with someone else as a "convoy" as it were but if folks have the kind of schedules I do linking up might be difficult at best.

[66FBCharger]

Going, but will NOT be driving 4 hours. All that "Drive 'em" talk if fine and dandy until your sitting on the side of The Interstate with idiots on Cell phones blowing by your pride and joy, trying to hopefully find someone to stop and help you get to a parts store and repair it.


No thanks.

That is why I will have another car going with me. If one of us needs to get to a parts store, one of us can be transported by the other. Of course I will bring spare parts and plenty of tools.
Part of the fun of driving is the journey. I drove my '70 440 6 bbl. road runner to the Mopar Nats in Mich in 1985. We still talk about the trip. It involved changing a distributor somewhere in Pa. in a convenience store parking lot in the rain at 3AM. My buddies and I still laugh and talk about that trip.
I am sure driving their cars long distance is not for everybody, but I enjoy it.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Driving...  as usual.    OD kicks azz.

  Sometimes I take pics of the cars I pass along the way...  sometimes not.  

[Dino]

I love all the drives, it's the shows I don't really care about.  

I put about 400 miles on the car since I got it back two Sundays ago.  When my classes start I won't have much opportunity to drive it so I'll be doing some improvements to it.  I can do without the fuel and exhaust smell it has now!  My wife refuses to get in the car untill that's fixed so I need to get busy.

I would love a convoy trip though because the only reason I'd go to a show is to meet some of the members here.

[Road Dog]

Driving is what it's all about. This is from a guy who has put near 400,000 miles in the seat of his.

[BrianShaughnessy]

More just passing thru...

[66FBCharger]

Bah!  where is your sense of adventure Cooter?  

I am seriously considering it but the fact is that I haven't had any time to tinker with the Charger. It's running well enough but who knows. It's a 7+ hr trip for me. It would be awesome to make the trip down with someone else as a "convoy" as it were but if folks have the kind of schedules I do linking up might be difficult at best.

Bakerhillpins,
We are going from Ct. It is around 5 or 6 hours drive for us. Not sure about everyone's schedule. It would be cool to have a convoy from New England. Any thought?

[NHCharger]

I usually drive my 72 down, 1,000 miles round trip. Last year I trailered my 71 down since I had a large shopping list for my 68 project and also had my Dad riding shotgun so there just wasn't enough room.

I hear what Cooter is saying. The tow rig broke down on the way home. A piece of debris shredded one of the engine belts and that one took off the other two. The belts were brand new and luckily we keep the old ones for spares. I set up three reflective triangle cones way behind the trailer and my Dad watched traffic while I replaced the belts. Had to remove the bottom skid plate to get at one. Cars were still flying by at 80+ mph. That was the quickest time ever for changing belts. Didn't even replace the skid plate until we could get to the nearest rest area.

[Cooter]

I usually drive my 72 down, 1,000 miles round trip. Last year I trailered my 71 down since I had a large shopping list for my 68 project and also had my Dad riding shotgun so there just wasn't enough room.

I hear what Cooter is saying. The tow rig broke down on the way home. A piece of debris shredded one of the engine belts and that one took off the other two. The belts were brand new and luckily we keep the old ones for spares. I set up three reflective triangle cones way behind the trailer and my Dad watched traffic while I replaced the belts. Had to remove the bottom skid plate to get at one. Cars were still flying by at 80+ mph. That was the quickest time ever for changing belts. Didn't even replace the skid plate until we could get to the nearest rest area.

Exactly, as I been there and done that as you have. Not fun in the least even with a crutch like a chase car.

[bakerhillpins]

Bakerhillpins,
We are going from Ct. It is around 5 or 6 hours drive for us. Not sure about everyone's schedule. It would be cool to have a convoy from New England. Any thought?

That would be exactly what I am looking for. What days are you planning on traveling?

I briefly mentioned it to NHCharger over the winter and was thinking I would try to hook up with him since I knew he usually drove down.

[BrianShaughnessy]

We are going from Ct. It is around 5 or 6 hours drive for us. Not sure about everyone's schedule. It would be cool to have a convoy from New England. Any thought?

I leave early thursday morning and try to get into the area by noonish.   Staying at Ramada in Mechanicburg.   It's just up the road from the Dodge dealer where the kickoff party is usually at.   Cheaper than Carlisle,  closer to Hooters. 

I drive 87 > 287 > 78 > 81.     I dunno if George68hemiRR is towing the Road Runner this year with the new F350 or not.  Last year the old F350 blew up on the way home once it got into NY.   The year before the rear end blew and didn't get repaired in time to go at all.

If anybody sees me you're welcome to try to keep up.    We'll probably stop at Cabella's outside Reading PA to gawk at stuffed animals and I'll probably get gas.   Whatever. 

[bakerhillpins]

I leave early thursday morning and try to get into the area by noonish.   Staying at Ramada in Mechanicburg.   It's just up the road from the Dodge dealer where the kickoff party is usually at.   Cheaper than Carlisle,  closer to Hooters. 

I drive 87 > 287 > 78 > 81.     I dunno if George68hemiRR is towing the Road Runner this year with the new F350 or not.  Last year the old F350 blew up on the way home once it got into NY.   The year before the rear end blew and didn't get repaired in time to go at all.

If anybody sees me you're welcome to try to keep up.    We'll probably stop at Cabella's outside Reading PA to gawk at stuffed animals and I'll probably get gas.   Whatever. 

I usually travel 91, 84, 81.  Keeping up will be a problem as the rear end is setup with 3.91s and no OD. 

[BananaDan]

I'm driving like last year.  I assume the NJ/NYC caravan will be going like last year, Chris driving with me and Bill with his trailer in our rear-view mirrors.  

We take 78 to 81 and leave early Thursday AM.

[66FBCharger]

Bakerhillpins,
We are going from Ct. It is around 5 or 6 hours drive for us. Not sure about everyone's schedule. It would be cool to have a convoy from New England. Any thought?

That would be exactly what I am looking for. What days are you planning on traveling?

I briefly mentioned it to NHCharger over the winter and was thinking I would try to hook up with him since I knew he usually drove down.

We haven't firmed up dates and times yet. We will probably leave Thursday morning i'm guessing. Maybe late Thursday morning. I will try to see if I can get a better idea of times from my buddies.
We go out I84 since I live a mile from 84.

[bill440rt]

I'm driving like last year.  I assume the NJ/NYC caravan will be going like last year, Chris driving with me and Bill with his trailer in our rear-view mirrors.  

We take 78 to 81 and leave early Thursday AM.

Ah, but the trailer sure was a cozy sleeping place for your Charger at night, hmmm...??    

Caravan will again be in full swing, perhaps we'll have others join us again. Try to stick together again, eh? Strength in numbers, you know.  

[Dino]

I usually travel 91, 84, 81.  Keeping up will be a problem as the rear end is setup with 3.91s and no OD. 

Ouch that's gonna hurt on a 7+ hour trip.  May I make a suggestion?  Find a high gear pumpkin for $50 somewhere.  You'll make your money back in no time just in gas.  I went from 3:55 to 2:96 and I don't need od on the highway at all.  Once your back home you swap again to have a quicker off the line car.

[bakerhillpins]

Ouch that's gonna hurt on a 7+ hour trip.  May I make a suggestion?  Find a high gear pumpkin for $50 somewhere.  You'll make your money back in no time just in gas.  I went from 3:55 to 2:96 and I don't need od on the highway at all.  Once your back home you swap again to have a quicker off the line car.

Well, the rear end is whining like my kids after I shutdown the Xbox. The OE config is 3.23. I don't have the time to do a rear end overhaul (just too busy with other crap) and was thinking of just having the whole rear end rebuilt by the local but that's going to run $$ and I really should put new pipes under the car as they are on the way out too. 

Finding a replacement isn't a bad idea... To many irons in the fire.   

[Dino]

Ouch that's gonna hurt on a 7+ hour trip.  May I make a suggestion?  Find a high gear pumpkin for $50 somewhere.  You'll make your money back in no time just in gas.  I went from 3:55 to 2:96 and I don't need od on the highway at all.  Once your back home you swap again to have a quicker off the line car.

Well, the rear end is whining like my kids after I shutdown the Xbox. The OE config is 3.23. I don't have the time to do a rear end overhaul (just too busy with other crap) and was thinking of just having the whole rear end rebuilt by the local but that's going to run $$ and I really should put new pipes under the car as they are on the way out too. 

Finding a replacement isn't a bad idea... To many irons in the fire.   

I totally hear ya, been there done that am probably doing it now but not sure cuz I can't stop to think and breath!

Lookup my thread in the engine section, search for 'pumpkin'.  I had a lot of difficulties with my swap because the new u joint didn't fit and I had no clue how to set preload.  Thanks to the amazingly talented people lurking in that section everything turned out as it should, but the car was on stands for a few days.

If you plan it right all you need is some basic tools, a good jack and stands and something to lay on, creeper is nice.

If I had checked if the new u joint would fit AND if I had found out how to set endplay before yanking the thing apart, the whole thing would have been done in a matter of hours instead of days.  It could be done in a few hours if you take your time, get breaks, and more coffee.  A pro does it on his back in probably 30 minutes or less.  When I swap again I plan to start on a Saturday morning at 7 and should be done with time to spare to wash up and have lunch.

If you find a pig that has the same size joint on it than your current piggy then you can use the same u joint.  I didn't have that luxury and never for a second thought the size of the new u joint would be off by a few crucial millimeters.  Frustrating!

Look around, if one's out there for a good deal you can plan for it.  The whole ordeal will probably take less time than visiting the shop a few times.  Forget about the exhaust for now, if it's not falling off then it'll work a few months from now, just mark it on the to do list.     You really want to plan for jobs on this car because touch one thing and three others break.  I get tempted to do the entire engine and engine bay in one go because 'as long as I have to remove this I may as well...' and 4 years later the car is a shelf in your garage!  One job at a time, it keeps the journey more interesting.   

[Troy]

I drive mine. I trailered the Barracuda once right after I first got it but it was probably the best road car I've owned (of the classics). I doubt I'll have a Charger to take this year though (maybe I'll take the Challenger again).

It's amusing how the professional mechanic of the bunch won't drive his car but those of us with hardly any skill have no problem heading out on a 500 mile road trip.

Troy

[tsmithae]

Lovin' the bug smear! 

[Chris G.]

I drive it, why shouldn't everyone? 

[Chris G.]

It's amusing how the professional mechanic of the bunch won't drive his car but those of us with hardly any skill have no problem heading out on a 500 mile road trip.

Boy was I thinking that.