50-year highschool reunion in Pennsylvania, take my car?

[lloyd3]

My, how time flies.  We're talking a 4k mile round trip to do this (on a trailer I'd guess) and a 4-thousand foot elevation change.  What could happen?

[Kern Dog]

Last year while in Carlisle, I talked about a cross country road trip from home in California to Pennsylvania and back.
The car would make it but at what cost?
The closer to stock, the better in terms of reliability and parts replacement should anything happen during it all.
I am optimistic to a fault though. I often think that most people are nice, most situations will work out. Being this way can sometimes lead me to make plans that go awry because I didn't expect it to be a problem. It makes sense to bring some replacement parts that may not be on the shelves of auto parts stores along the way, I always do that.
You'd be wise to bring an alternator, voltage regulator, some segments of wiring to fix anything that may fail like fusible links or spark plug wires.

[John_Kunkel]

On a trailer? I'd be more worried about the tow rig, what's it gonna be?

[lloyd3]

I'm not sure how motivated I actually am here but it is something I've considered for many years now. For purely nostalgic reasons I'd love to drive some of the roads of my youth back there once again, in a car like this one.  The area seems to have maintained its rather rural and somewhat unspoiled nature (which is something as I've been gone for 40-years now).

There is a "showing-off" component to it as well, but that seems pretty shallow to me when I think about it now (not that I'm a Saint). Seeing an old man in a what is essentially a "kids" car never goes entirely well for me now and I suspect that the locals back there will see it that way as well.

Getting it there won't be easy either, no matter how it is done. Expensive and risky.

A fool's errand perhaps?

[Kern Dog]

DON'T let age slow you down or prevent you from having fun.
I see this happening to car guys that I know. Dudes that used to take risks, have fun, do all sorts of cool things are now playing it safe, staying in and doing far less than they used to do.
Don't let it happen to you too, man. Life is over too dang fast. Sure, as we get older we often become more cautious but once you get in the habit of playing it safe and boring, you're destined to fade away. What....you think that you'll feel more motivated in a couple of years? No. The time is now. There is no guarantee of a tomorrow for anyone.
This buddy of mine turns 65 next week and dreads the number. I can sympathize because I turned 60 in November and hated that number too. In his case and mine, we are in decent health and are fully capable of doing what we always have done. My wife reminds me that age is just a number and that it does not have to define us. I agree. Don't let the number make you old.

[73rallye440magnum]

I'm not sure how motivated I actually am here but it is something I've considered for many years now. For purely nostalgic reasons I'd love to drive some of the roads of my youth back there once again, in a car like this one.  The area seems to have maintained its rather rural and somewhat unspoiled nature (which is something as I've been gone for 40-years now).

There is a "showing-off" component to it as well, but that seems pretty shallow to me when I think about it now (not that I'm a Saint). Seeing an old man in a what is essentially a "kids" car never goes entirely well for me now and I suspect that the locals back there will see it that way as well.

Getting it there won't be easy either, no matter how it is done. Expensive and risky.

A fool's errand perhaps?

If it is important to you, do it. A safe tow rig and a properly rigged car trailer will make the trip just fine. The relationships you want to touch on will appreciate your presence, regardless of how you got there.

[Rocky05]

I'm not sure how motivated I actually am here but it is something I've considered for many years now. For purely nostalgic reasons I'd love to drive some of the roads of my youth back there once again, in a car like this one.  The area seems to have maintained its rather rural and somewhat unspoiled nature (which is something as I've been gone for 40-years now).

There is a "showing-off" component to it as well, but that seems pretty shallow to me when I think about it now (not that I'm a Saint). Seeing an old man in a what is essentially a "kids" car never goes entirely well for me now and I suspect that the locals back there will see it that way as well.

Getting it there won't be easy either, no matter how it is done. Expensive and risky.

A fool's errand perhaps?

The girl you wanted to impress dropped her skirt long ago.

Do you want to impress some ogres who were never your friends but you think that you can win them over with a nostalgic car?

Nobody really cares about cars anymore.

Some A-hole showed up at a 5 year reunion in a helicopter.  Nobody cared about it.

Drive a car because it is still an adventure.

[Kern Dog]

What a downer YOU are, man.
Maybe there are NO car guys where YOU are but I notice onlookers every time I drive one of my classic cars.

[timmycharger]

lol, nobody cares about cars anymore? 

So why can't I get gas without someone coming over, taking a pic or asking me a million questions?

we are talking about Chargers right? Just want to be sure     Shoot, I should start looking for a 69 to go with my 68 since nobody cares about them, I should be able to scoop one up for at least 500 bucks, right?

C'mon man, people still care, including my kids, there was nothing more satisfying than teaching my boys how to row a 4 speed in a big block car, they can't wait to drive it again this summer and I can't wait to let them have some fun since they are the ones helping me work on it when it breaks!



 

[Kern Dog]

Nobody likes cars anymore.

[496polara]

If driving that far with your car doesn't scare you to death then go for it.And remember you have to secure it while you are there and then make it home.
An overabundance of insurance for both vehicles and the trailer would be Paramount and I mean no questions asked guaranteed payout. Is it worth the risk ? Only you can answer that.

Got several extra trailer tire and wheel spares for the trip? Should you do it I wish you all the success in the world.
I never went to any of my high school reunions and if I did I would only have about 30-40 minutes needed to get there.

[lloyd3]

Getting my car back there safely would be like moving heaven & earth.

The planning and cost alone should make anyone blanch. Would it be good for a few fun moments...probably. Would it be a huge headache, definitely. Some of my few remaining buddies might enjoy it but any women that I might once-have wanted to impress are old crones now (sadly, women generally age like milk back there and...I'm hardly Adonis). In my minds-eye, the best part would be the hopefully still-rural roads of my youth lined in hardwood trees, with the sounds of my exhaust echoing off of them.

I have driven it for some distances out here (onto the lonely parts of the great plains of Eastern Colorado) but only during temperate periods (& the cooler the better). The drone of that big engine at 65 miles per hour (on a longer trip) is almost overwhelming for me now (& that's with stock everything). While I still love the sound, I already have bad hearing-loss and after a long trip like that I'd likely be deaf as a post. The 3.54 to 1 Dana with a stick guarantees that you get to 60 very quickly and after that, any more speed starts to become unpleasantly loud and the heat coming back through the firewall is quite impressive, even on a cooler day. My 19-gallon gas tank means that at 6-7 miles per gallon you're constantly watching the fuel gauge (120 miles per tank is about the average). Crossing the generally hot United States (in early September) would be a 3-day hellscape of heat, noise, and gas stations every hour or so. Trailering (or shipping it) it would solve most of that but it would add significant expense (and then the worry about all the other problems that could easily arise).



No...as much as I like to contemplate it, I'm not likely to do this thing. It is great fun to think about it though...