Friday was a wonderful day in Phoenix, warm, sunny. I was able to sneak out of work around noon, and since i was pre-packed and had already done my pre-flight checklist we were ready to roll within 45 minutes of me hitting the front door. The trunk was filled with 2 carry on size suitcases, a plastic tote full of care care products and miscellaneous, a tool box, full size spare, jack, and one folding chair. We headed out with the odometer reading 49,094.
My friend Frank was leaving town about the same time, and headed to the show as well and i had about a 10 minute head start, he caught up to us at our midway point stop for fuel. We had the top up and the a/c on as the desert temps were approaching 100, which is typical for this time of year. The car performed flawlessly with no interruptions. If you were following from the previous blog post we blew up the trans in Albuquerque and had to scramble to get a trailer and truck home. Seems the trans rebuilder (not me) didn't really rebuild the trans, the rear bearing on the mainshaft disintegrated and fused 1st gear to the shaft. Took almost 2 months to get it all back together and the car hit the ground last Wednesday night. I work better under pressure!
At our fuel stop Frank asked what gas mileage i was getting, some quick calculations by my navigator Regina determined 22.7 mpg for our drive across the desert. Remember 340, holley 600 double pumper, a-833od and a 2.76 rear ratio equates to 1,800 rpm in 4th at 70 mph. Weeeee. Franks's durango r/t eeked out a 15.8mpg. Once we fueled up we were on our way to Burbank to take in the weekly friday night Bobs big boy cruise. We hit the lot about 7:30 and the place was packed, several passes through until we got a spot. Of course the last thing you want to do in a crowded parking lot full of car geeks, when driving a sweet convertible with the top down is grind gears. If anyone can ship me the remnants of my reverse gear i would appreciate it.
We met up with some of my great California friends, Tim, Fabio, Robert, the dude from the burbank autobooks store, mick from the bay area who i found from moparts. Great night with great folks. About 10 we headed for our hotel, exhausted. This morning i'm off to the show, and the girls are off to spend time with my brother in law. I'll update from the show.....if the cloud cover clears......it's only been a day, but i miss the sun already. Here are some quick pics. The day was just a drive to get to the show with not much along the way. Tomorrow as we cruise up the coast, and Monday when we cruise Yosemite i can imagine the pics will be MUCH better.
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| My travel partners Becky and Regina |
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| Windmills in the desert |
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| Frank Sr and Frank JR |
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| Grainy night shot at Bobs Big Boy |
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