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Nine days, ten states, 2600 miles in the 62 F-85 wagon. What a trip!
Drove to Charlotte for the start, did the long haul, then drove to Lansing for Homecoming, then drove back to Northern VA (stopping at Summit Racing on the way). What a blast. HRPT and Homecoming were two things on my "must do" list. I'm sorry I waited so long.
Naturally the 62 was Plan B. I had hoped to get the 67 Delta done for the trip. HAHAHAHAHA. When it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, I started a one-month thrash to get the 62 ready. Completely rebuilt the front suspension and steering. Installed a dual circuit M/C and completely replumbed the brakes. Fixed a number of the nagging interior squeaks and rattles. I WANTED to replace the U-joints, but time ran out (you KNOW where that's going...). Of course, this was not without it's issues. I bought the front end kit from Kanter. Got the driver's side back together no problem. Tried to install the passenger side spindle on the lower control arm and the nut would not tighten - the ball joint stud kept spinning. Apparently the taper was machined too small, causing the threads to stick up too far (first photo is the new one, second is the old one).
I called Kanter and spoke to their tech line. The had me take measurements and said they'd call me back. My prior experience in situations like that has not been good. To Kanter's credit, they called me back in half an hour, said all the ones on the shelf matched my old one, and that two replacements were being shipped. Two days later the new one was installed and the front end was assembled. That's service!
I had a leaking rear axle seal. First problem is that I couldn't get the rear drums off. Ordered an OTC brake drum puller from Amazon and that made life very easy. The next problem was pulling the old seal, as I didn't have one of the tools. I DID, however, have an old 455 valve, and with a little careful trimming and welding it to a bolt that fit my slide hammer, problem solved.
Ordered a new AC Delco cap and rotor for the car. Here's an example of today's AC Delco quality. I put the old cap back on and hoped for the best.
The final issue was a carb rebuild on the E-brock. I had a part throttle stumble that really bothered me. Turns out that the accelerator pump cup was worn, and the new cup, along with fixing a float that was WAAAAAY out of adjustment, fixed the problem. Unfortunately, I did this Friday June 7, and as I went to reassemble the carb, the link from the choke shaft to the fast idle cam just disappeared. POOF. After a few frantic moments searching, I called a friend who has a couple of E-brock carbs on the shelf and stole the replacement part from him. Crisis averted. Packed the car with every tool and spare part I could fit and prepared for a 5 AM departure on Saturday.
Saturday was grey, and I hit rain from Richmond to Durham. I met up with my friend Bill in South Hill, VA. Bill was driving his 1963 Grand Prix (which had not been on the road in seven years prior to May...). We got to Charlotte about 2:00 in the afternoon and stood in line to get registered. Finally got into the zMax venue about 3:30. Quite a spectrum of vehicles. That's Bill's white GP parked behind my wagon.
Day Two saw the drive from Charlotte to Martinsville. One of Bill's mufflers had a baffle come loose internally, and the rattling sounded like a load of rocks in a washing machine. We found a Dynomax at an Advanced on the way and pulled into the GM Motor Medics to change it out when we got to Martinsville. That 1965 was built by UMI, and unlike just about every other vehicle there, it did NOT have an LS swap... Every night the hotel parking lot was like a car show unto itself.
Day Three took us on US58 from Martinsville to Bristol. The route went right past the Wood Brothers museum, which was a fantastic detour (as was brunch in a coffee shop in Stuart, VA). It's amazing how "stock" early stock cars were (including factory chrome trim). From there, the route became a string of 15MPH switchbacks up and down various mountains. Suffice to say that without power steering, this was a bit of a workout. I also noticed some faint squealing from the car when coasting. Cue ominous music...
Hot Rod did catch me driving through Independence, VA. One of the cool things is how people sit out by the side of the road and wave and take pictures as the cars come through these small towns. We went though Independence about lunch hour, so there were a lot of people out. For a few seconds, you feel like a rock star.
Day Four saw us drive from Bristol to Sparta, KY. The Cumberland Gap was spectacular. There's a tunnel on US25E, and this is what greeted us. Fortunately, it was a brief delay.
The weather was beautiful - we didn't miss the rain of the last three days. Unfortunately, about an hour out of Indy, when we had pulled off for lunch, I found that I had a bad vibration in the car between 40-50 MPH. I knew it was u-joints. We limped the car to Indy and pulled up at the Motor Medics. I pulled the driveshaft and found this.
For those not familiar with the 61-63 cars, the driveshaft has four (count 'em) u-joints, two as part of the CV joint assembly in the middle and one at each end. One was obviously toast. Two were marginal. These are not common u-joints (yeah, surprise...). I was able to locate two replacements locally, but they would not be available until 8:00 the next morning. I got the Motor Medic guys to press out the two worst ones. We arranged to leave the car at Kentucky Speedway and come back in the morning to finish the repair. We did have time to look at a few cars. The Edsel was at the hotel. The VW has a 572 (well, that's what the valve covers said, anyway). It is also one of the radical cars that we saw being loaded onto trailers a few miles outside of each venue. Kind of defeats the purpose of Power Tour if you trailer the car between stops. Frankly, I never saw the VW do anything other than idle around the sites. ProFairgrounds returns...
We were up early on Day Five to pick up the u-joints. I had found two more at a CarQuest in North Vernon, IN, so we planned to pick them up on the way to Indy. The track was quite a bit quieter on Wednesday morning. Got the car back together and on the road by 11:30. The drive was not without challenges. The one road out of Madison, IN was closed for construction, so it took a little while to find a way around. We picked up the other u-joints and hauled buns to Indy, where we again put the car up, pulled the driveshaft, and replaced the other two u-joints. A couple of six packs to the Motor Medic guys as a thank-you went a long way when we had to do this two days in a row.
Suffice to say that I'm getting really good at getting this driveshaft in and out quickly.
The drive from Indy to Ft. Wayne on Day Six looked to be the worst weather-wise. The route took us on a lot of straight two lane roads through farmland in IN and OH. I was worried that my car was pulling badly to the right, until I looked up and saw the trees bent over. The wind was something else that day. We got to the venue and it was a complete washout. Vendors had already started packing up. We got our tickets punched and drove over to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. Wow, what a collection!. That was well worth the trip. I'm in love with the Cords, the model for the Toronado.
Day Seven was a pretty easy drive from Ft. Wayne to Norwalk. We got there about noon and sat in a long line to get in. Weather was the best day of the trip. The Power Tour finale was incredible. What a collection of cars.
Yes, that's a north-south mounted W41 Quad 4 in that International pickup.
Yes, that's one of the Australian LS-based V12 motors in the Cheetah.
And when was the last time you saw a Vega wagon with the Nomad package? (There was also one of the Pontiac Astre versions there as well...)
Joe, thanks very much for the picture tour. Congratulations on completing the Power tour. Was at Lansing saturday and would have liked to meet you. Now at least I know what you look like.
Wayne
Medina, Ohio.
This was my first trip to Homecoming. Another great show. Others have already posted photos, so I won't really duplicate those. I did lust after the 50 tin woody. The lineup of Jetfires was impressive. It would have been nice if there were some that were not red, however (yeah, the blue convertible isn't a real Jetfire - the factory didn't build any convertibles). The FWD Cutlass Supreme converted to RWD with the 403 was impressive. It was great to finally meet a number of folks who I have previously only known on-line. The RE Olds museum was also a treat. I've always loved the wacky V5 diesel motor. The Quad 6 was a new one on me. We left Lansing early Sunday morning for the slog back to Northern VA. We did have to stop at Summit Racing on the way, however. Arrived home just about 9:30 last night, nine days, ten states, and 2600 miles later. What a ride!
I think it's an Imperial - I don't know. Kinda looks like an Imperial. I have no idea what that thing under the hood is though.
It's a shorty Imperial. The buildup was featured in Hot Rod and I think Street Rodder some time ago. The engine is a late model Hemi with an engine cover. I have a problem with an engine that is so ugly that you have to put a fake nose and glasses on it (LS fans, are you listening?).
I always called those wood body vehicles like the early Hercules-Campbell designs on the old bakery delivery trucks and later the Oldsmobile, Pontiac & Chevrolet vehicles a woody.
I know some people refer to them as a tin woody, but I've never known why they are referred to as a tin woody?
Joe, it was good to see you up here in Lansing. Glad to see you made it back safe, I was not planning on hearing the full story so soon after your return home. I will plan on organizing another C.O. meeting when the 2020 nationals are down in Tennessee.
Joe, it was good to see you up here in Lansing. Glad to see you made it back safe, I was not planning on hearing the full story so soon after your return home. I will plan on organizing another C.O. meeting when the 2020 nationals are down in Tennessee.
Pat
It was great to see you, Pat. I figured I had better write it down while it was still fresh. These days I forget why I walked into a room.
Looking forward to 2020 Nationals. I hope we can get a stronger CO turnout than last time.
The Auburn museum is incredible to be sure, I visited it in 2012 and was blown away. Did you get into the NATMAS building next door?
Unfortunately we did not. We didn't get to the museum until 4:00. I was looking forward to seeing the Futureliner, though we had seen the restored one that was on display at Carlisle a number of years ago.
I always called those wood body vehicles like the early Hercules-Campbell designs on the old bakery delivery trucks and later the Oldsmobile, Pontiac & Chevrolet vehicles a woody.
I know some people refer to them as a tin woody, but I've never known why they are referred to as a tin woody?
The reason why they were called a tin woody is because the wood on those cars were graphics, not wood.
Unfortunately we did not. We didn't get to the museum until 4:00. I was looking forward to seeing the Futureliner, though we had seen the restored one that was on display at Carlisle a number of years ago.
I wish I had seen it as well, but it was on a road trip when I visited. Their collection was really interesting as well (I may have to post some photos eventually!) but not as good as the neighbours! The basement of the NATMAS was almost torture. Almost like an underground parkade with the ceiling supported by pillars, dusty cars stashed way back in the murky depths but roped off to visitors. Couldn't help but wonder what gems might have been hiding back there.
Thanks for sharing pics Joe. I bet it was a blast. Maybe someday I'll do a PowerTour long haul. My co-worker did one a few years ago in his Mercury Cougar.
It is also one of the radical cars that we saw being loaded onto trailers a few miles outside of each venue. Kind of defeats the purpose of Power Tour if you trailer the car between stops.
Those cars should not be eligible for the "Long Haul" designation. Trailered cars are not really power tour cars.
Power Tour looks like a good time.
Your a brave man and must have the Luck of the Irish behind you. When that CV fails the WHOLE car shakes like hell!!! And parts are impossible to find.Ask me how I know. I can see by your pic's. that someone already was in there with u-joints (with grease fittings) at one point in that cars life.
The driveshaft is the Achilles heel of those cars
June 17th, 2019, 02:58 PM
