Arctic Ocean Trip to Tuktoyaktuk in a Superbird

[taxspeaker]

For over 6 months my son and I have been planning a father/son July 2024 trip in the Black Ice Superbird from Indiana to the actual Arctic Ocean. As many of you know I have driven my white SuperBird to Alaska from Indiana not once but twice. What most people do not know is that you cannot drive to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska. You can drive as far as Prudhoe Bay, but the last several miles are private property and you have to ride in a private shuttle the last 8 miles to the Ocean.

This summer, if the forest fires and highway closures allow, here is my plan. First, take the red survivor Superbird that Gordon Geesey used to own to Carlisle for the survivor tent. I will haul it on the back of my ramp truck. We will return home late night Sunday July 21. Then on Tuesday morning July 23rd I will take my 2020 Dodge pickup pulling an open but protected aluminum trailer with Black Ice on it and head to Western Mopar Madness in Edmonton, Alberta, arriving Friday July 26. My son will fly into Edmonton that morning but I will haul camera equipment and a drone (he is licensed to fly it) in the truck. The show is Saturday July 27, and early morning on July 28 we will leave heading north, this time with me leading in Black Ice and he driving the pickup pulling the empty trailer. The plan is arriving that evening the 28th of July in Ft Nelson, BC. That road is primarily paved but really really bumpy. Already reserved a room at the Woodlands in Ft Nelson.

Then on July 29th we will go from Ft Nelson BC to Whitehorse Yukon-a tough tough day with lots of mountains, road construction, 1-way bridges, gravel and animals out the wazoo on prior trips. No hotel yet in Whitehorse-I have stopped there before at the Skye Inn and will probably stop there again.

On July 30 we will once again head north and drive to Dawson City Yukon for the night. The morning of July 31 we will leave Dawson City and drive the Dempster Highway, which is a 460 mile gravel road, and stop for the night at Inuvik Northwest Territory.

Finally, on August 1, we will drive the last 90 miles on a dirt road to the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, get lots of pictures and the old fat man is going to swim in the Arctic Ocean and play Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-da-Vida at the top of the volume on the truck radio while uttering a bellow of defiance. We will then load the car on the trailer and try to drive all the way back that night to Dawson City. Ryan (my son) will fly back home from Edmonton when we get back there and I will then drive on alone the 3-4 days back to Indiana-he has littler kids and needs to be home, but he knows the old man's clock is ticking now at 71 years old.

The truck is a Ram 2500 with a Cummins diesel and 40,000 miles. I just put new top line tires on it and have done most other maintenance, just leaving the fuel filters. It has a CB, sat phone, extra gauges and a locking tonneu cover. I am getting a clear windshield protection film installed within a couple of weeks. The trailer is a brand new 24' Aluma trailer with nose protection, 2 spares and a locking storage compartment with jack stands, chocks, wood boards for the jack stands and extra tie down straps.

Black ice has a 1969 police 440 with a 6 barrel, a 4-speed and a Dana 3.54 rear, running MSD ignition and electric fuel pump, auxiliary fans and auxiliary fog lights, all of which is correcvtly wired behind relays, a 50 Amp circuit breaker and powered correctly from the alternator lug NOT from the battery in order to avoid overloading the firewall wiring block. This is the car that Tom Ferry up in Ketchikan owned for years who originally made the fresh air hood and painted it black. He then sold it to Larry Roper who repainted it the current coat of black and also owned it many years, and he then sold it to me 3 or 4 years ago.

In the last 2 months I have replaced the rear wiring harness, brakes, wheel cylinders, repacked wheel bearings, battery with a big Group 27 new one, checked and replaced any questionable hose, tightened all clamps, nuts, bolts and that pesky caliper to steering knuckle bolt that vibrated out both prior trips (it is now locktighted!). Also replaced and adjusted emergency brake mechanism, instrument panel with a Steve Cutler rebuild, the steering gear and Pitman Arm, pinion seal and new tires. Installed a higher output alternator, all new exhaust, new rebuilt wiper motor, rebuilt the carbs, completed a tune up of everything and fixed anything that needed it. Even put in one of those Am/FM original radios for some reason-no radio up there and couldn't hear it over the car anyway. The car will go first and the truck will follow and we have walkie-talkies for the 2 of us.

The only thing left on Black Ice is a clear wrap of the complete front end, sides, hood and windshield. I am having trouble finding anyone to do it and my son Ryan and my buddy Matt Johnson have been assigned that task. I guarantee this time we will have pictures and video far beyond the last 2 trips.

Having done this twice before I utilize a lot of checklists in preparation.
After today's work here is the primary checklist. Anyone coming by on June 13 for Ryan Brutt's Mopowered Hot Rod tour the car is in our shop with all the other ones too.

[tan top]

    sounds like another awesome adventure !
 looking forward to reading about & seeing your adventures as & when you can 

awesome stuff Bob