[video]
… drive across the United States - and back.
I returned to my driveway last night, October 7, 2009, with 5,992 miles on the odometer in eight days of driving to and from California from my home in Valley Forge, PA. I had a four-day break at the Triumphest and VTR National meeting in San Luis Obispo, California.
It was a great trip in so many ways. This is indeed a very big, beautiful country. I am so glad I drove across it, coast-to-coast (almost), and even more so that I did it in this lovely old car. This was one item for my bucket list.
Once I had resolved the ignition issue - a failed condenser - that had me on the side of the road four times until I fixed it by swapping it out for a good, used part, the TR4 has been amazingly willing and ready. It has started at first request every time, each day and gassing up after half a tank means a lot of stops. While returning 30 mpg over the whole trip, it has never stalled or struggled, whether at sea-level or at 7,500’. It has cruised at 65 - 75 mph, hour after hour, it has climbed mountains and crossed deserts and plains. It has been a wonderful companion for the road.
This car is now approaching its first 100k road miles (today, 99,495 miles) from manufacture 48 years ago. 6% of those miles have been in the last fortnight.
I have read on the Triumph list many issues with cooling the TR engine. This car’s radiator was re-cored years ago. The hole for the hand-crank is gone, and in terms of cooling this is a good thing. Otherwise the system is fairly stock.
I mention all this because I was worried about over-heating. So worried that I took with me 3 fan belts, a thermostat, two radiator caps, a full set of hoses and a water pump. Three fan belts? Yep. One to help you out when yours broke and still feel I had myself covered. I also had a gallon of water - for me or the car, whoever needed it first. It was never opened.
In two situations on this trip, the risk of overheating was extreme. The first was crossing and then climbing out of the Mojave Desert. It was mid-afternoon at 118F / 47C. The climb out was steep, long and arduous, rising 1800’ in just a couple of miles.
The second was on the Interstate coming into a blistering Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was flying at 70 mph on the highway, then hit roadworks and a very hot standstill for 10 minutes or so, before we then crawled through the city for 30 minutes. Moving a car length at a time, we crept through and out of town where a fender-bender on the far side of the town had compounded the impact of the roadworks. The car survived both situations without the temperature moving beyond high-normal.
Take a look at my temp gauge. It’s in Centigrade:
Once up to operating temperature, the needle is steady in the little box around 70 degrees, to the left of the 70 mark. In the two extreme cases I describe above, the needle moved to the right side of that box. It never went beyond. The only time the needle has ever gone beyond that box was after a refresh of coolant in the radiator after a flush. I ran the engine. The car had not yet ‘burped’, and the needle quickly flew over to the far right.
My point in all this? I have read a lot about people struggling with over-heating and spending a lot of money on electric fans, 6-blade impellers, improved 4-blade impellers, special thermostats and so on.
If your car overheats, make sure the cooling system is able to work as designed and only then ‘upgrade’ as necessary. I’d start with a really clean system: flushed block and heater. Remove the radiator and back flush it (turn it upside down and put the hose on and leave it for an hour or two. Try one of the tins of flush stuff in your local FLAPS. On replacing the radiator, make sure your radiator shroud is well-fitted to the radiator.
After this, assess where you are and invest as you see fit. I have proved to my satisfaction that this car can handle pretty extreme conditions without auxiliary cooling equipment.
As for oil pressure, I saw it drop below 50 lbs when cruising, for the first time. That was in the desert heat of Arizona and California. Even though the water temp remained constant, after 3 or 4 hours of hot, fast Interstate driving, the oil pressure would decline slowly as the oil lost viscocity. After a 15 minute gas break, it would return to 60 lbs plus, for about an hour (not the 70 lbs plus I have at start up and through full warm-up) then gradually drop again to around 50lbs. In the Mojave, it dropped to 40 lbs, it was that hot. If I lived out west, and drove highways a fair bit, I think an oil cooler would be a useful investment.
This speedo started flicking wildly on the last tankful, coming home last night. I’ll start with lubricating the cable and see where that gets me. If that fails, I’ll work through the terrific speedometer repair manual researched and written by my fellow Delaware Valley Triumphs club member, Tony Rhodes. Tony has written several excellent technical articles: http://home.comcast.net/~rhodes/ the links on this page include the speedo manual that I’ll get intimate with tomorrow.
This was my first long road trip in the TR. Some may think I over-packed. There are certainly some items I wouldn’t take again - like a car cover. By the time I could have used it, the car was dirty.. scratch, scratch.
Here’s my packing list for next time - a photo was quicker than a list:
I did not use the luggage rack. The boot was full. Behind the seats was full, and the passenger footwell. To save space, some of the spare parts were bubble-wrapped and stuffed out of sight around the fuel tank, behind the back-board. I had recently replaced the generator, battery and starter. I trusted that they would do the job for me.
Matt Bates’ Triumph Rescue (http://triumphrescue.com/index.html) installed a rebuilt transmission and overdrive for this trip. I could not have contemplated such a journey without overdrive. It has literally given the car a new, additional dimension. The overdrive worked perfectly, at each and every asking.
Among the spares I carried: ignition set, plus extra points and condensers, fuel pump, fuel pump rebuild kit, facet fuel pump, fuel line, fuel filter, oil filter, a full set of gaskets plus gasket material and hole punches. Water pump, a full set of hoses, thermostat, two radiator caps, a set of spark plugs, brake and clutch hydraulic rebuild kits, fuses, flasher unit, inner tube and band … the list goes on. In the picture above, the leather bag at the back was for me.
It is amazing what can be fitted in if you are organised.
Here is a closer look:
All the tools on the red blanket fit in the grey bag top, right. All the small spares and consumables fit in the blue bag with red handles, centre. All the electrical portables fit in the green bag, bottom, right.
The most useful item after the GPS was the CB radio. The information shared by Truck Drivers is invaluable. If you need help, they are always very willing - such as suggesting work-arounds with roadworks, or where Smokey is ‘taking pictures’ (using a radar gun to trap speeders). If you try this, you’ll hear that them address each other as ‘Driver’, not ‘Trucker’. I am surprised at how many Drivers are women.
I chatted with a few of them about the car and my trip, as we rolled along through some State or other. ‘This is a Triumph, not an MG, but thanks anyway’ was my first contribution after a passing Driver asked his road colleagues if they’d just seen that lovely red MG. A couple of others at different times noticed my antenna as I passed them or they passed me. ‘Got your ears on, TR4?’ one said. I had a good chat with him and his road buddies travelling in convoy (yes, they still do) about where I had been and where headed.
Here’s a conversation from yesterday, as I was headed in to Indianapolis. Many cities are undergoing road construction with the stimulus money. Longer term it will be better, but there are an awful lot of cones in the roadway just now…
“I’m eastbound on I40, going into Indianapolis. I’m headed on to Philly. Are there any roadworks I need to workaround?” I asked, 20 miles before the city. Indianapolis has a ring road, if I needed to avoid issues on the direct path.
“Only problem is going north from Indianapolis” one said
“No problem, just go straight through, you’ll roll by without slowing down” said another.
“Thank you, driver.” I said, to each response.
Others agreed, and so it was.
Other times, a Driver would report something like: “They are taking pictures at 132 over 8, in the middle, eastbound.”
No-one responds, but all who listen take note.
In the states where .1 miles are staked, the whole number is above the decimal, hence ‘132 over 8’ = 132.8 miles. ‘The middle’ is the median, with a radar gun pointed at eastbound traffic. Its difficult to not feel a little smug as a hot Japanese hatchback with a blacked-out windows, low-profiles and a big noisy can speeds by you and by mile post 132.8, to then see him stopped a mile or two down the road.
If you want to try CB, buy a no-frills low-end radio with a good name like Cobra or Uniden and invest in a good antenna. My local radio shack has a decent compact Cobra radio on sale for $20. Just sit it on the passenger seat and plug it into your cigarette lighter. (If the speaker is in the bottom side of the radio, add a remote speaker for $15.)
A good antenna can be had here: http://www.firestik.com/ I attached mine to the luggage rack. Brackets could be made to fit under side mirror fittings, or onto fender brackets. Standard antennas need to be grounded to the body of the car. No Ground Plane antennas do not. If your paint isn’t too precious, a magnetic base antenna would be easiest to fit and remove.
I could possibly pack quite a bit less for my next trip. I wouldn’t skimp on spares though. In fact, I might take more than I have here. Not because I don’t trust the car, its just ‘insurance’ and peace of mind for me.
Thanks for those of you that sent me messages of encouragement while on the road. It was great to hear from each of you. For everyone who has enjoyed reading this trip blog - thank you.
See you on the road,
Brian
Just a quick update for my family and friends following my trip blog: I’m home, safe and sound. 14 hours, 805 miles. Insects from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are today’s additions on the forward facing portions of my car.
Sleep well, all. I will. At least I hope I will when the coffee wears off. And the Red Bull, the Vivarin, the little shots in the red bottles. Oh, and the big cans of Full Force…
Christ, I’ve had more caffeine than a Barrista can serve in a full shift.
This broadband connection seems a little slow……
… it was a journey of 738 miles today, October 6, 2009. It felt like more. From Shamrock in Texas on I40, I am now in Vandalia, Illinois. I left a dreadful motel called the Western Inn, opposite this wonderful old Conoco garage, gas station and convenience extravaganza, now restored.
This iconic building was a key feature of the Mother Road, Route 66.
I left at 4:30 AM this morning, pushing my car into the street opposite the Conoco gas pumps as I didn’t want to wake any guests. I started my car at the end where the owner slept, and was happy to wake him in his dirty, smelly hotel. There are many choices for over-nighting in Shamrock: don’t let the Western Inn be yours. Its only saving grace was that I could walk to a good steak house, full of locals. I mean, its not everyday you overhear your table-neighbours speak of mating temperatures for bulls, the potency of bull semen and the retirement ages of top bulls. The product of such industry, the steak, was excellent.
In more than 5,000 miles of traveling these past 10 days, I hadn’t seen another LBC, let alone a Triumph, away from SLO. That was until this chap today in a splendid TR3. The plate said 60 TR3, but I could not see the state it was registered in. We flew along at 65-80 for some 25 miles east from Tulsa (NOT OK), passing all and anyone.
At some point, I found myself in front of him. I wondered if he was local, or on his way home from California, like me.
Then I saw in my rear-view mirror his right indicator come on and he pulled onto the hard shoulder. I couldn’t stop immediately as the safety fence where I was met the fog line (it was a rail culvert) so there was no hard shoulder. I stopped at a safer point about a quarter mile on, down a slope beyond the culvert.
I picked up my phone and set off walking back up the Interstate to see if I could help.
When I got up the hill to the culvert, I was judging how big a gap in trucks I’d need to run it (no hard shoulder). I then could see past the culvert and saw that he’d gone! Realising he must have passed me, unnoticed, I turned around and saw he was now parked behind my car, one quarter mile back where I’d walked from. As I headed back to my car, I saw him look in my car, look in his, kick a couple of his tyres, then he jumped in his TR3 and just drove away. I was about 250 yards behind him, on foot, on the Interstate hard shoulder.
I can’t believe he couldn’t see me, or work out that I’d walked back to see if I could help him. I also find it odd he’d fire up his TR3 and leave my abandoned car without understanding where I’d gone. I was right behind him! I shouted to no avail among the passing semis.
I stopped at the next services to see if he was there needing help. No, he wasn’t. I repaid my toll and returned to my drive. I never saw him again.
I44 into St Louis at Rush Hour is insane. Crazy People! Crazier driving. I was relieved to get through it. Then I just didn’t have enough in my tank to make Indianapolis, IN. From Vandalia, IL, I am 805 miles from home. I should get there late, tomorrow.
From the worst hotel on my trip in Shamrock, I’m now in one of the best: Days Inn, Vandalia, Illinois. Vandalia was this State’s first capitol and was where Abraham Lincoln began his political career.
I’m in a real, old, well-kept motel, with a licenced restaurant. When you order fish, it really helps to be reassured that it is identifiably the species of your choice, and this is definitely catfish:
Anyway, one more day of this adventure to go.
Ciao,
Brian
Here was my shirt for today, October 5, 2009:
Its true that on this trip I have had electrical problems to fix, that I waited for a part and I had a leak (brake fluif). Happily, I haven’t had to touch the carbs. While all true, the accumulated mileage to date, almost 5,000, means I would have to believe the small slice above representing ‘doing things’ with these cars, is up for reconsideration.
I slept badly last night and without enough sleep set off at 4:45 AM. Just before dawn, there was a brief shower, soon burned off by the Arizona sun.
I40 snakes from pass to pass, all at about 6,500’ to 7,300’ The ridges were maybe 30 miles between. Even though the picture below is deep into Arizona, there are still plenty of mountains to pass.
Through the whole morning, I was stopping for gas more than the car needed. Stopping for me. I was really tired - too tired. I resorted to Red Bull to get me further east.
My goal today was Oklahoma City, from Flagstaff. I fell short because of this surprise below. I literally turned a corner on I40 coming out of Amarillo and drove straight into this white pillow. It was extraordinary and unexpected. This is just the front of the fog bank. It got deeper and darker inside.
I was thankful for two things: ponying up for the wiper motor and for Jim Thompson’s tail lights - I knew the truck drivers would see me as they thundered by.
I pushed on as far as I could but gave up in Shamrock, Tx, some 200 miles short. Its a long day tomorrow, then. I hope the fog is gone with the new day.
I made on of these for my motorcycle years ago. I am at a busy motel and its not easy to see my car. I went to Home Depot nearby and bought this door/window alarm for $25.
The big item gets plugged into a power socket in my motel. That is the receiver. It receives a signal from the middle sized box (the transmitter) when it is separated from the little box, which is a magnet. Move them a half-inch apart sets off a loud chime in the motel room.
For my motorcycle, I had attached the magnet to the handle of a headless toothbrush, set up so that it could swing like a pendulum. When my bike was on its side stand, the pendulum would rest against the transmitter. If someone stood the bike up straight, the pendulum would swing away and trigger the chime. The transmitter and magnet were tucked away, locked in my top box.
I wanted to to something similar for my TR. My best idea I have had is to put something on the driver’s seat that if disturbed, would trigger the chime in my room.
Using one of the cards on top of the TV in my motel I’ve set up the transmitter and magnet on the driver’ seat. I’ll know if someone knocks the card over.
It does not protect the passenger door or seat, but could with a yard of fishing line tied to the card and looped onto the window crank handle on the passenger door. If someone opens that door, it would pull the card with it and trigger the alarm.
I’ll get a better idea on setting this up and will share it when I have it. This works for now. It is a good peace-of-mind for $25.
I’ll tape the magnet to the transmitter when travelling so I don’t run down the little battery in the transmitter.
I rolled out of the SLO Vagabond Motel at 6:30, October 4, 2009. It would have been earlier, ideally, but I was late to bed last night after the awards banquet.
The organisers and volunteers have been really terrific. It is amazing what smart people with a passion can organise. They were all warmly thanked at the dinner.
The great and the good were recognised and awarded - all amazing custodians for these cars we all love so much.
On leaving the motel this morning, Susan, the disembodied voice in my GPS, suggested I turn south on US1. This is interesting because it is not the way she brought me here. I didn’t want an argument so I went along with her; when I go wrong, she first gets insistent with ‘Turn around when possible’ on to a more aggressive ‘Turn around now’ and ‘Execute a U-turn as soon as it is safe to do so”.
Am I glad she did. It was a much better route, along the coast north of LA and then on to meet I40 after Pasadena and San Bernadino.
Here are shots from an early gas stop. I wanted to show you the new LED lamps for my tail/brake lights. I bought them at the VTR from a Stag owner, Jim Thompson, who has designed and is making these as a side line. They are WAY brighter than standard bulbs. You couldn’t see if my tail lights were on in daylight, with incandescent bulbs, the glimmer was so dim. Well you can now. Below shows just the tail lights. The brake lights are much brighter again. The lamps were $25 each - money well spent. Jim and his business-partner Chris have the website http://www.litezupp.com/Litezupp.Com/Welcome.html where you can learn more about these terrific lamps.
They are even visible at an acute angle, a feature not associated with regular LED lamps.
The drive east starts with practice climbs to 2,000’, then in successive steps you rise to 4,000’ and then 5,500’ The scenery changes at each step. From the ocean…
…to the Rockies and beyond.
One hundred and fifty years ago, a man coming through this pass would have seen enormous herds of bison, roaming the plain.
On reaching Arizona and now at 7,000’, the trees return.
At the Arizona Great Divide, I saw it was 7,500’. A brief decline took me into Flagstaff and to a motel. 770 miles covered in about 13 hours.
After a few hours of Funcours on October 3, 2009, wandering around seeing these immaculate, interesting cars, I decided to check my fluids, given that I’m headed back home tomorrow. I am not diverting to Big Sur on the way back, so its about 2950 miles.
My brake fluid in the master cylinder was only half full - that means I’m loosing fluid. I drove to a Sears auto shop near the hotel and asked for an oil change. While the car was up on the lift I went to see what was going on. My front right caliper was leaking badly. The backside of the tyre was soaked in silicone (DOT 5, also a decent tyre dressing).
Sears would not let me work on the car on the lift, or hand me the caliper for me to repair it, for litigous reasons. I understand that. So after the oil change, I went to the car park of my motel and broke out my tools again. I brought with me these terrific folding jack stands (like a camera tripod). As we all know, stands are so essential anytime you stick your head in a wheel well or get under the car. I couldn’t find them in the US, so ordered them from MOSS Europe in the UK. They were 25 pounds. Folded, they are about 2” in diameter and compatible with TR packing limitations and rated 4-ton:
http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=11088&SortOrder=2
Here is the offending caliper. I had to replace the seals on the opposite caliper a couple of months ago. I thought that was a freak failure, given they had been rebuilt two years ago. Clearly I should have done both together. However, I had the rebuild kit with me. Rick from Portland and with a hot TR6, was a great help. We bled the brakes and all seems well. Sheesh - a loss of brakes is the last thing I need, heading out to the East Coast.
In the morning I’m headed home from SLO. My goals are:
Day 1: Flagstaff
Day 2: Oklahoma City (that’s in NOT OK)
Day 3: Indianapolis
Day 4: Philadelphia
I’ll post brief notes to let you see how I do.
Cheers, all
Brian
October 3, 2009: I did not get time to visit the ‘off-property’ Concours yesterday. If someone can send me any of their photos, I’ll be glad to add them, credited, to this blog. Like-wise the Le Mans start. I was too busy battling for second place in the Funkhana to get to it.
Here are some phots from todays Funcours, and a shot of the finale of the Concours - the award presentation.
For the Funcours, the venerables assembled at the hotel entrance:
I don’t know if there is a collective noun for Heralds. A herd, perhaps? If so, this herd of Heralds (and Vitesses) numbered 11. Could this be one of the biggest, recent gatherings of this car.
Of course, we all knew Batman would never drive an MG, would he?
Some shots of the wider field. We started with cloud for a couple of hours. It soon burned off to bright blue sky and crisp sunshine.
This red TR4 above is my car. It is flattered by the photographic qualities of my phone. Apart from this car’s many cosmetic issues, I did not know to bring the top. Bingo: 5 points off. (I don’t know my score, just know I should have had a top. I’ll know next time.)
A 1935 Gloria, looking glorious. This belongs to Duncan Wood from Texas. I love the way the SUs then made no attempt to filter incoming air. It’s just a square-cut tube. A single SU, I’d guess 1”. Isn’t she pretty?
Above is Paul and Jane Higley’s Southern Cross that ran in the Concours. This old lady (not Jane) is from 1932 and resides in Texas. This appears to be the same carb set-up as the Gloria. Oliver has now explained to me that all Glorias are Southern Crosses, but not all Southern Crosses are Glorias. Thanks Ollie.
A TRailer. It looks like a push-me-pull-you. It is a Siamese-twin-like combination of a Spit and a GT6 rear. It has two boots. I don’t know, it looks a bit like marrying your cousin, automotively speaking. And all towed by a Vitesse (thanks, Roger).
The Herd of Herald/Vitesse again. What a great assembly of these terrific cars. The drivers and copilots all went to dinner together last night. That they are all parked together today, it seems they must have got on. Birds of a feather…
This is the end of the concours awards, at the main entrance to the hotel. I couldn’t get pictures of all winners, so I am posting none. They will be recognised through the regular channels.
October 2, 2009: Before the Dine-Around yesterday evening, I took a walk around the parking lot at the hotel. Join me to see some of the more notable cars. I wish the photographs were better, but I only have a camera phone with me.
Look for the red Morgan. I hadn’t seen one before. I learn it is a Plus Four Plus. Only 26 were made. It is TR4-powered, like other Morgans of that time.
