Photos by the author and Derek Klein.
Every morning the crews light a votive candle to the Old Car Holy Trinity: Spark, Fuel and Compression. These are the three spirits we need to appease in order to continue to move this fragile expedition forward. It is a tenuous relationship, but so far the gods have smiled upon us.
The Mustang being the slight exception. The car has become a “two-footer” in city traffic. It repeatedly kills at stoplights and requires one foot on the brake while the other feathers the throttle. On the open road, when engaging the secondaries on the Holley, it wants to run forever. It’s the primary circuit on the carburetor that seems to be ill suited to low speed city driving. This is no surprise; the car is originally a “C” code 289 and certainly the heads and cam have not been matched to meet the aftermarket Edelbrock intake and larger carb. But as previously mentioned it has not dampened our enthusiasm for the car but only requires extra attention when driving.
Our ride-along ACM Technician Specialist Dale Wickell insists there is a fourth spirit to satisfy: traction. But truth be told, despite snowy roads from the start, road adhesion has been a non-factor. That’s mainly due to the fitting of modern radial winter weather tires from the Michelin family. The Chrysler has been fitted with 235/75R15 B.F. Goodrich Winter Slaloms, The Nomad with 215/70R15 Michelin Ice-X, and the Mustang with 195/70R14 Uniroyal Tiger Paw Ice & Snow. All have exhibited excellent road handling in wet and dry, with minimal road noise.
Also interesting are the MPG numbers we have been putting up. Throughout the trip we have been exclusively burning the good stuff…91 octane Shell V-Power. It’s ethanol free so no worries about adverse reactions to rubber fuel system components. Averaged out, the Mustang posted 21.5 mpg, the Nomad scored 15.3 mpg, and the Chrysler was at 13.0 mpg over our 1,150 miles thus traveled.
Today we woke up in beautiful Salt Lake City. Snow flurries greet the crews but it’s bright and sunny; a perfect Chamber of Commerce weather forecast. It’s a welcome relief from the overcast weather we’ve been having, and we hope to enjoy as much of it as we can before continuing east through Colorado and beyond.
Conditions permitting, we try to run the cars at about 60 MPH. That is in stark contrast to the rest of the world driving at 80 MPH plus. What has become somewhat disconcerting is not the attention the cars are getting, but rather the lack of it. Painted bright red and wearing sponsor livery, the cars look like they have escaped from a 1960’s era newsreel of the Monte Carlo Rally, yet there is a noted lack of rubberneckers. No, it seems that most of our fellow road warriors are either unaware or indifferent to our moving car show, wrapped up and insulated in their transport pods, screaming down the road, all manner of distraction available to them in their electronic induced daze, seemingly removed from the world.
I, on the other hand, have reached total awareness. I am connected to the moment. The Chrysler demands it of me, for it requires constant engagement. A breeze blows; the car reacts, and in turn awaits my reaction. It dares you to reach for that cell phone. It will put you into the shoulder of the road. Or worse.
But the traction is good, the compression strong, the fuel is potent, and the spark is hot as we make good time to the Colorado border and our nightly stop in Grand Junction, looking forward to our Rocky Mountain crossing tomorrow morning.
Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year’s Eve from the The Drive Home crew.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1IG3RMo
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