Joe Flanagan Posted August 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 We will find out tomorrow. So far, so good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 We will find out tomorrow. So far, so good. You can do it, Joe! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 20 lbs at idle is great....rule of thumb and Mopar guide is any pressure indicated at idle...and 10lbs per 1000 engine RPM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 My Plymouth made it the 200 miles from Edison, NJ to Alexandria, VA without a problem. I went 60-65 the whole way. It was hot and noisy. I had the windows open and everyone was going faster than me. I took I-95 because I wanted the most direct route. It handled beautifully. There was only one traffic backup and the engine temp got up to around 200 but never got any higher than that. Out on the open road it felt like I could have cruised at 70 but I didn't want to push it. The car has an R-10 overdrive transmission. Anyway, I'm really happy with how it performed (except for certain areas where the rain gets in but that's an ongoing project). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Roberts Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Sounds like good news Joe . And Moose is a hero . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatie46 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Hadn't been on the forum in years, I remember Joe building this car. Glad it all went well, proud of Moose for steppin' up and helping a bro and proud of Joe for jumpin' in that old car and living life! Awesome story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 how did you get to Edison? Glad you made it home. We are already talking about next year Northeast tour. Might be based in the Berkshires and south west VT. Hope you have your issues well sorted and can join us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I rented a U-Haul trailer and brought it as far as Edison. That put me within AAA's range for a free tow if anything went wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 So you did not need to call AAA then. Great! Hopefully you can enjoy the rest of the driving season without further travails. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 the shakedown cruise is always a hectic pins and needles adventure....many years ago I did both body and drivetrain of a small English front wheel drive car and finshed it off with new Centari enamel paint job.....I drove it just a couple times locally before I left on a 1000 mile round trip adventure..one trouble enroute on first leg...coil wire went south about 375 miles from home...had spare in the car...got to my destination...I had lost one bolt in the exhaust setup...I at the time did not now the true fix was a flex joint.....replaced the bolt at my cousins house in his shop......trip home was uneventful and I ordered and installed the flex pipe as a permanent fix...but yeah...was tuned to every noise and bump in the road...little car was amazing to drive...later sold it and got an AC equipped Plymouth Horizon...wish I had never done that...the Plymouth was an excellent buy and worked flawlessly...I have since gotten another one of these little British cars..it is way back on the queue however.... it takes a bit sometimes to work all the quirks and such out of a complete teardown... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janan5243 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I did my return trip to Schoharie yesterday. Only one traffic jam, getting across Throg's Neck bridge. Temp went up to about 210. Turned heater on & reved a little in neutral when not moving. Never overheated & cooled down once moving again. Got 14 mpg when in jams & 16 when cruising.All in all, very happy with car. Only downside used a quart of oil in a little under 500 mis. Plymouthy; thanks for your note about oil pressure. Lowered the stress level. Joe; glad your problem is solved & another round of applause for Moose And of course I had to do one dumb thing on trip. Filled car up at start of return trip. Got distracted at pump. While in traffic jam, a biker pulls up & tells me that I don't have a gas cap. left on fender at station. My wife called my sister immediately & she went to station & found it. Will have it back next week.Thank God it was a local station. Duhhh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 a lot of cars of this era are kinda in the realms of 'mystical' as few know how they operate...may innovative ideas flying about and being used..many the same but by different name...often it is hard to relate this to a non-owner but we still need to try and get it right...and yeah, they will often overlook the importance of a phrase 'as like' and assume they are the same...I think we all have a bloody spot on a shop wall where we often bang our heads in disbelief... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I lost about 3/4 quart in 570 miles on our tour. But most of mine is leaking out the valve galley covers as they got overtightened somewhere along the line and warped. Gonna need to pull them and try to tinker them back into a better shape. Rear main drips some also. I have noticed that when my car gets low on oil the gauge will drift lower on acceleration or rounding a sharp curve. Never drops below 25 lbs and bounces right back but I know its tme to add We are having an "ORPHAN CAR SHOW this Sunday just north of Syracuse, nice drive up Rt10 and over US20. Sure they would welcome a DeSOTO. Sponsored by the AMC club. https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download.php?id=940509389314565&eid=ASvkGvgK6_1RUtITP0ropaCCFl2tqP9xdLLBGmBLLtVNlmbK9xE3SjP38--iadpucX4&inline=1&ext=1440520306&hash=ASs-75J5Q621dAse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I have to say I feel a lot more comfortable with the car now, having put 900 miles on it during that trip, almost all of them on the highway. As I said in an earlier post, a lot of the trouble is just nerves and anticipating what might go wrong. By the way, Tim, I don't know if you recall but you called the problem exactly during all the back and forth on this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Joe..I am happy as can be you were able to connect with Moose and get this right....I am sure you feel a lot better about the car now...and I am sure Moose did a little shakedown on your car and would have alerted you to anything he may have found questionable..two sets of eyes really go far in this business... IF I ever get out from under running to and fro for family...I may get some paint on my unit..then I will be on the hot seat for shakedown runs....I have driven my 54 a number of times locally and so far 100 miles has been the top sustained run..I still have zero desire to drive it anywhere long distance...not because of distrust...because...no AC mainly but I also miss all my other creature comforts I normally retrofit...PS PB CC AC STEREO and a few of them get a much longer list of options... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I did my return trip to Schoharie yesterday. Only one traffic jam, getting across Throg's Neck bridge. Temp went up to about 210. Turned heater on & reved a little in neutral when not moving. Never overheated & cooled down once moving again. Got 14 mpg when in jams & 16 when cruising.All in all, very happy with car. Only downside used a quart of oil in a little under 500 mis. Plymouthy; thanks for your note about oil pressure. Lowered the stress level. Joe; glad your problem is solved & another round of applause for Moose And of course I had to do one dumb thing on trip. Filled car up at start of return trip. Got distracted at pump. While in traffic jam, a biker pulls up & tells me that I don't have a gas cap. left on fender at station. My wife called my sister immediately & she went to station & found it. Will have it back next week.Thank God it was a local station. Duhhh A couple summers ago a street rod entered the freeway in front of me from a curvy entrance ramp. As his car straightened out I saw a large splash of gas come out. When I saw him at the cruise in we were both headed to I said" Did you fill up with gas on the way here?" He asked how I knew so I told him what I saw. He then pulled the gas cap out of his pocket So my advice is not to set it down. I either keep it in my hand or in a pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 bless the modern cars with built in straps on the gas caps...remember in the old days folks would install a chain on the cap and a t-bar in the neck of the fill spout.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Ply Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 janan5243, on 25 Aug 2015 - 12:21 PM, said: "And of course I had to do one dumb thing on trip. Filled car up at start of return trip. Got distracted at pump. While in traffic jam, a biker pulls up & tells me that I don't have a gas cap. left on fender at station. My wife called my sister immediately & she went to station & found it. Will have it back next week.Thank God it was a local station. Duhhh" Been there done that. Had a 52 Ford F1 pickup. Stopped for gas and realized I'd left it behind at the last fillup. Stuffed a rag in the opening after refueling.... drove it into a farmer's house and advised him of my dilemma. He walked out into the shed. Pulled out a nice chrome cap that just fit and gave it to me! There are still a lot of good people in this world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I have to say I feel a lot more comfortable with the car now, having put 900 miles on it during that trip, almost all of them on the highway. As I said in an earlier post, a lot of the trouble is just nerves and anticipating what might go wrong. By the way, Tim, I don't know if you recall but you called the problem exactly during all the back and forth on this thread. Joe, I am glad you were able to get it fixed and drive it home safely no matter who came up with exact problem... Where will you go on your next long road trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I don't know, Don. But one thing is for certain, it will not be on any interstate highways. That is no fun at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janan5243 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 My local NAPA had a cap that fit. Even tho I'm getting original back next week, I want to use car locally & didn't want everyone telling me or asking about the rag sticking out or the character who wanted to see if it was a molotov cocktail. So I sprung for 6 bucks & it's even chrome. As far as the interstates, I agree. However even tho I'm just shy of 72 I still have two businesses that require a lot of my time. This was the first trip I was able to take in 3 years. I'm working on shedding one of them but because it's fairly new, it's not very saleable & I have a lot of our retirement money tied up in it. So I'm training someone to run it until it gains a little. So I don't have the freedom right now to take a leisurely drive for a week or two. BUT VERY SOON IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!! MY engine also has some small drips & leaks. I spoke to an engine rebuilder today & he didn't think the oil usage was bad for our era engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor dirt Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I had that same cap on my first car, a 49 Plymouth station wagon for a week or two. HA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Joe, my wife asked me how I was doing as we approached our stop near the end of our 220 mile leg of our trip. I said fatigued. When you compare driving the old car to driving a modern one you need to be more involved with the process. Driving the Blue roads instead of interstates helps a bit, but with the windows down and wind blowing through, no AC, standard trans, different ride motions, handling, perhaps slightly vague steering, maybe bias ply tires following the road imperfections, No cruise control, no tinted glass, etc. I believe you tire earlier both mentally and physically. Add in inattentive people driving around you and it's a tiring combo. Specially for us older dudes. When my wife and I travel we usually do 3 hour stints at the wheel, and we each do 2 and that gets us 700 + miles or more. She can't drive the standard trans, so its on me, and even with rest breaks every 2 and a half hours or so, it still take more out of a person than modern vehicles. Not saying it not fun or worthwhile, just a different experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Flanagan Posted August 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 All true. I sometimes start to doze off when on long trips in our modern car but that didn't happen on this trip. What really wore on me was the sound of cars roaring past me constantly, especially the semis. One of the things people who rode in the car tended to comment on is how smooth the ride was. That surprised me too when I first started driving the car. I guess that's the new springs, shocks, king pins, tie rod ends, steering gear box bearings, etc. I forget much of the stuff I did on this car. Anyway, I much prefer the back roads. I think it's just a nicer experience overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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