Road Trip to Key West

[taxspeaker]

In the summer of 2015 I drove Superbird#177569 (Alpine white 440-4 barrel, automatic-my avater) from Jeffersonville, IN to Whittier Alaska, just to drive a Superbird to Alaska. Here is the thread on it. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,112825.0.html

Upon return from that trip I sent it to Mark at Magnum Restorations for a complete nut and bolt restoration. He did a magnificent job, the car was named best Wing Car at Mopar Nats in 2017, and best in show at Mopars at the Battleships last year. I have only put 40-50 miles on it since the restoration, but that has now come to an end as far as being a trailer queen-they were made to be driven.

Today we completed all but one mechanical preparation for a new trip. On June 19 I am once again taking the Alaska Highway Bird #177569 on a trip as far south as I can go-to Key West. No passengers or chase car again and I want everything stock just like for Alaska.

Once again we will have a tail mounted Go-Pro snapping pictures every 5 seconds (over 30,000 in the Alaska trip) and a passenger vent wing mounted go Pro that I hope to be able to run all the time. My note taking will be better and my voice memos will be better too.

Some things I learned on the Alaska trip and have changed:
-I am now running a Glen-Ray triple core, max-cooling radiator with a bottle of added water wetter for extra help;

-The ECM for the Mopar electronic ignition has been relocated to a cool spot hidden in the nose after frying several ECM's on the Alaska trip-they should not be firewall mounted if on a long trip.

-I have upgraded the radio to an AM/FM factory type so that this time I have sound, accompanied by a new speaker.

-The heat on the first 1/3 of the Alaska trip was unbearable, and this one is expected to be worse, so I am going to leave at 5:00 am to get a few hours in cooler temps and just about 90 minutes or so of darkness driving.

-We put in hardened valve seats after the engine rebuild from the Alaska trip, so I can run pump gas but I am still taking a dozen octane booster bottles.

-I have changed the oil today to Brad Penn 20w50 high zinc content but don't expect much in the way of consumption. The engine was rebuilt during the restoration.

-The original trip averaged 13.5 mpg at 60-65 mph. I plan on driving about the same and will be interested to see if the mileage is similar after the rebuild

-On the Alaska trip I had completely rebuilt the suspension before the trip and it was trashed by the gravel roads at the end, so it is all new, as are the brakes.

-The automatic transmission was rebuilt right before the Alaska trip so I merely changed the fluid and filter in it today.

-The wheels and tires were going to be the same ones that went to Alaska because they had lots of tread left, but they are date coded 2012-too old, so today we put 4 new Radial T/As on and even bought a radial T/A spare for safety

-The brakes are new but the emergency brake is not working-we adjusted it today with no results, so Sunday will be looking at where the cable end goes into the foot mechanism to see if that's the issue. If that doesn't fix it I will live without it.

-The electronics were all rebuilt during the resto, so they are all good to go.

-Today we fixed 4-5 minor items, changed oil and filter, checked all fluid levels hot,

-Anyone considering a long trip in one of these old Mopars must consider all components as I have done: engine, trans, rear, brakes, suspension. Additionally, I will have a trunk loaded with a toolbox, most of the supply items from my Alaska trip checklist, and a box full of spare parts and fluids. In the back seat floor behind the driver is a first aid kit, fire extinguisher and a hammer. Navigation will be by road atlas. I can post that checklist if anyone wants it.

-The planned route is to leave June 19 going south on I-65 through Kentucky to Nashville, then I-24 east over the mountains to Chattanooga, then I-75 south taking Atlanta head on. Staying in I-75 all the way through Georgia and the west coast of Florida, stopping in Sarasota for the night. The next morning of the 20th, continue on I-75 south to Miami, catching US Hwy A1 south all the way to Key West where numerous pictures are planned of the mile marker zero and the southernmost spot of US monument is with the Bird in front. It appears to be about 1,400 one-way miles from Indiana. Will return the same route but stay in Sarasota for 2 weeks before heading back to Indiana July 5 or 6.

-I would love to meet up with anyone on the route-you can pm me here or call my cell-I will provide it via pm.

So when this trip is done the Alpine White Alaska Highway Bird will have been driven as far north and as far south as possible in the US-just as something to do that hasn't been done before.

Bob J

[held1823]

awesome.  can't hardly wait for the virtual ride along, the views will be spectacular

[Q5XX29]

Subscribed! I admire your adventures in your Superbird. Let me know if you ever venture to Mt Rushmore or the Rockies or something.. would love to meet up with you on the way.

[Birdflu]

Subscribed as well! Good luck on the trip! 

[RallyeMike]

So when this trip is done the Alpine White Alaska Highway Bird will have been driven as far north and as far south as possible in the US

You'd have to ship the bird to Hawaii to hit the furthest South possible in the US...... maybe the next adventure?

[hemi68charger]

Go for it Bob !!!!   

[garner7555]

That is awesome!

[WINGIN IT]

Best of luck Bob, keep cool

[b5blue]

Go Bob go!  I'm near Tampa if you need anything. Double check wipers, defrost and weather stripping.

[held1823]

So when this trip is done the Alpine White Alaska Highway Bird will have been driven as far north and as far south as possible in the US

You'd have to ship the bird to Hawaii to hit the furthest South possible in the US...... maybe the next adventure?

he did say DRIVEN as far as possible. using a boat to Hawaii would be cheating

[Birdflu]

So when this trip is done the Alpine White Alaska Highway Bird will have been driven as far north and as far south as possible in the US

You'd have to ship the bird to Hawaii to hit the furthest South possible in the US...... maybe the next adventure?

he did say DRIVEN as far as possible. using a boat to Hawaii would be cheating

[ACUDANUT]

Go Bob go!  I'm near Tampa if you need anything. Double check wipers, defrost and weather stripping.

You need a defroster in May in the keys ?
Beware, Key West does not cater to Straight folks, watch your six at all times.

[tan top]

 good stuff 

[DonC1]

 

[b5blue]

Go Bob go!  I'm near Tampa if you need anything. Double check wipers, defrost and weather stripping.

You need a defroster in May in the keys ?
Beware, Key West does not cater to Straight folks, watch your six at all times.

20+ years in Florida with my 70 Charger I learned humid air fogs windows. Any leaks to inside end up steaming to the point I kept a squeegee and dry towels in the car at all times. Most rain here can last days not hours and you can't keep windows open. Charging system critical when stuck traffic lights with wipers on (Required) possibly defroster to defog windshield idling with old system giving low alternator output.(At idle to 5MPH, I've Denso Alt. now.) You find every water sensitive connection or parts and appreciate every shield when roads turn into temporary streams. The happiest day in my Charger was 1st day with A/C! (Not just cold but DRY air!)   

[odcics2]

Ran 120 mph just past Marathon Key, back in the day, passing 5 cars in a row.
Fun times.

[taxspeaker]

Thanks for the encouragement. Got to admit that Youtube video by Caroline Jones didn't hurt the motivation either!

90 mile Test drive was just finished this morning:
High speed 95
Average speed 70 +-
Oil pressure at highway 35 PSI, at idle at stoplight after 1 solid hour 25psi
Water temp 190 steady, slowly raised to 200 when sitting in traffic at stoplight
Leaks/consumption/performance issues: none
Gas mileage-not yet refueled
All unknown rattles apparently were eliminated with tightening and lube yesterday.

Other issues
Pulls to left at braking
Emergency brake still not working (project for tomorrow night)
Car would not restart after pulling in shop. Had this issue before and replaced neutral safety switch (automatic), now have it again. Started at firewall relay no problem, so not sure about this one and will think about it a day or so.

Thanks
Bob

[hemi68charger]

...
Car would not restart after pulling in shop. Had this issue before and replaced neutral safety switch (automatic), now have it again. Started at firewall relay no problem, so not sure about this one and will think about it a day or so.

Thanks
Bob

Sounds like you are vetting the car well.. Have you replaced the starter relay switch at the firewall... I'm taking it when this issues shows its head, the starter doesn't even click? If not, the no electrical signal to the starter and that's via the reply switch. Points to the relay switch if by-passing it works... Or, I'm missing something..

T

[taxspeaker]

Thanks Troy

Starting issue only comes up when hot. Tried the old jiggling the shifter and going to neutral and all that with no joy. I do hear a click at the relay but no starter action. I think I have a starter relay in the shop and it is easy to bolt on tomorrow yo see if that is it. Also, although I checked the transmission fluid hot, idling in neutral and it was ok before the test drive I guess it's possible the torque converter sucked in just enough fluid during the drive to lower the fill level below senor connect in the tranny, so I will check that too.

Bob

[b5blue]

I had a similar problem and it was the connection of the red battery cable at the lead battery connector. It looked perfect and held when pulled on but if you jam it around while someone turned the key it would suddenly start. 

[taxspeaker]

All issues now resolved, emergency break fixed, starting issue fixed. Change in itinerary

Leave Indiana in 2 weeks on June 18. Will be stopping at Hampton Inn in Alexander City AL, pictures in front of museum next morning at dawn, then on to Sarasota on 19th. Then on to Key West on 20th. Back to Sarasota on 21st, staying 2 weeks, back to Indiana on July 6.

Car shows-June 22-Lance's Hooters Car Show on 6/22 in Bradenton FL
Talking to "Southernmost Car Club" in Key West about something on the 20th

Would love to meet up on route-pm me!
Thanks
Bob

[garner7555]

All issues now resolved, emergency break fixed, starting issue fixed. Change in itinerary

Leave Indiana in 2 weeks on June 18. Will be stopping at Hampton Inn in Alexander City AL, pictures in front of museum next morning at dawn, then on to Sarasota on 19th. Then on to Key West on 20th. Back to Sarasota on 21st, staying 2 weeks, back to Indiana on July 6.

Car shows-June 22-Lance's Hooters Car Show on 6/22 in Bradenton FL
Talking to "Southernmost Car Club" in Key West about something on the 20th

Would love to meet up on route-pm me!
Thanks
Bob

I live in Alabama, about 1.5 hours from the museum.  I don't know Tim Welborn personally but the local Mopar club is very involved with the museum and I bet he would like to know you are coming by to take pictures.  If he had time he would probably like to be there to meet you and see the car.  This is a really cool trip and I would love to meet up if our schedules allowed it.  If you would like me to send word to Tim Welborn about your plans then I would be happy to do so.     

[taxspeaker]

That would be great Garner, thanks
Bob

[taxspeaker]

Leaving Tuesday 6/17

Here are 2 pictures of camera. This is a re-design after our experiences with the Alaska Go Pro. The front is a clear dome as you can see. Inside is the latest model GoPro with a 4 GB SD card that will take live recording-card holds about 8 hours of recording. Go Pro innternal battery is disabled and power comes from battery pack with 12 hour life. Mount designed and 3d printed by my son Ryan.

Unit is mounted to wing with rubber special vibration/scratch proof tie down with additional felt insulation of wing. Again, after experiences from Alaska trip this is much more vibration/water resistant and much more idiot proof. I just need to change the battery and SD card each night. We also are carrying an extra dome and tie downs.

The rear shot shows the clamshell connection which has a 3rd level back up with the small blue tie downs.

BTW the coffee table illustrated book of the Alaska trip is now in production stage from our own Cody Cole, will be done by late summer.

[held1823]

you in the market for another son? my mom still offers me up for adoption to this day.

(i am not making that up, lol)

[taxspeaker]

Ernie my son, sorry but you are not a legitimate offspring

The date should say June 18 Tuesday

[moparstuart]

you in the market for another son? my mom still offers me up for adoption to this day.

(i am not making that up, lol)

not surprised at all    

[held1823]

you in the market for another son? my mom still offers me up for adoption to this day.

(i am not making that up, lol)

not surprised at all    

me either. i was hoping to hoodwink bob

[gtx6970]

Cool trip. Im really jealous.
Should be lots of fun. not sure I would want to do it alone though.


I'm in process of buying a car. And the thought of driving it home ( right at 2,000 miles one way ) keeps tickling my brain.
Although My gas card , not to mention my insurance man,,, would surely have a meltdown though. But with an 11-1 compression Hemi , auto, and a 3.54 dana  ,,,pretty much anything over 5- 6 miles per gallon is a pipe dream..

[Birdflu]

Bob,
Good luck on your trip! I'm jealous to say the least! My wife and I have no problems driving our old Mopars any amount of distance, but we're always held back by work, family, etc. You know, those necessary responsibilities that are required in order to have the lives we have. The only part of a multi-state trip that would make me nervous is the overnight parking at hotels. How are you dealing with that? I'd prolly have to have a chase vehicle with an enclosed trailer or else I wouldn't be able to sleep!  
Gary

[426HemiChick]

Hola Taxspeaker,                       15 June 2019

Wishing you and your companions a safe and enjoyable trip to KW. I think you will find it a very interesting place to visit.

Spent 9 months there 63 - 64 during the Cuban missile crises. Went back 25 years later (1989) could hardly find much that I remembered. The only place that seemed to have stood still all those years was the Key West Airport. Everything except the airlines flying there remained the same.

Duval Street seemed narrower but in reality it was as it had been. Truman's summer home is on what used to be the Naval Base. There is an old fort that was covered over with sand that had been dredged out of the bay where ships and subs used to tie up. After the Historical society or whomever, took the fort over for preservation they started removing the sand. They found live ammunition and other armaments inside the fort. We used to stand watch on top of all that unknown explosive ordinance.

Most of the base has been redeveloped for civilian use. There are two fairly large concrete buildings that used to be the Naval Hospital and the Naval Admin building. I believe they were built to withstand any hurricane then and in the future. Both were redeveloped as condos.

There's a very nice pier where the Naval Ships and Subs tied up. It is now used by the lucky residents of the redeveloped Naval Base, with one caveat, the US Navy still owns the pier and can take it back whenever they decide they need it.

If you follow the pier to the north end (I think North) you will find the old Seaplane Base. It's most likely where boats are launched in that area.

When you are crossing the 6 mile bridge heading north, look over to your left and you will see a skinny old bridge that we used to drive on weekends when we wanted go to Miami. Just imagine a young 23 year old snot nosed sailor driving a 64 Caddy convert across that bridge at 110 mph. The car belonged to my buddy who was too mellowed out to drive. Obviously we didn't have a blowout, else I wouldn't be typing this.

About the only advice I can give you about taking your lovely Bird to KW is when you get away from the keys and the state of Florida, stop at a do it yourself high pressure car wash and give her a double going over with fresh clean water. The salt is carried in the air from ocean breezes that whip up the ocean. When you get home it would be worth doing again.

Enjoy your trip; Stay safe.

Best Always,

426 Hemi Chicks

[taxspeaker]

700 miles done-driving rain for 90% of drive, hot. Lots of water leaks as expected in it but car did fine other than running poorly. Oil consumption-none, average gas mileage about 12.4 but drove faster than in Alaska. Water temp hit 200-210 in traffic a couple of times. Leaving early morning for next leg.

Secret to hotel parking-right out front and slip the night clerk a $20

2 shots at Wellborn museum between heavy storms. No one was there

[b5blue]

God speed! 

[held1823]

so very epic.

can't imagine the looks you got for driving it in the rain.

[hemi68charger]

700 miles done-driving rain for 90% of drive, hot. Lots of water leaks as expected in it but car did fine other than running poorly. Oil consumption-none, average gas mileage about 12.4 but drove faster than in Alaska. Water temp hit 200-210 in traffic a couple of times. Leaving early morning for next leg.

Secret to hotel parking-right out front and slip the night clerk a $20

2 shots at Wellborn museum between heavy storms. No one was there

Full Steam ahead......... Awesome.....

[garner7555]

I sent an email to the guys in the Mopar club, asking them to let Tim know that you were coming by but they never responded.   Sorry, I still think that if Tim had known about it he would have made an attempt to be there.    Awesome trip!  Can't wait to see more.   

[billssuperbird]

 

[WINGIN IT]

Looking good Bob.
Love the pic at the museum with the stormy clouds in the background.

Just curious, but where were the water leaks?

[moparstuart]

 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Just curious, but where were the water leaks?

Let me guess; wiper pivots and window/vent window seals. Hopefully not the windshield gasket.

[billssuperbird]

That's where mine leaks when I get caught in the rain

[taxspeaker]

Sorry for the delay. Got to Key West yesterday June 20, 2019 at 2:00pm. Pictures to follow. Let me bring up to date:

Tuesday June 21, 2019 left Indiana at 7:00am in heavy rain. No driving issues. Engine running rough (see below) once very warm. Lots and lots of water leaks. Wipers ran for 90% of day in heavy rain, thank goodness for RainX. Mileage averaged 12.4 but average speed 72mph. Stopped at Wellborn Museum in Alexander City,AL about 2:30 in afternoon for pictures in rare break in storms. Pictures posted Tuesday night also showing dark clouds that opened up within 5 minutes of leaving. My original plan was to stop for the night there but the weather looked so bad I decided to drive on. Stopped for the night in Tifton, GA leaving car parked under awning at checkin, and asked night clerk to look the other way but keep an eye on it. I always pull 1 wire and put it in my pocket too for safety. Posted update that night.

Wednesday June 22, 2019 left Tifton at 5:30am to avoid some of the heat. Windows badly fogged inside from condensation but no other issues. Oil down about 1/2 quart-it is a new engine so that is expected because of breakin period on engine. Had absolutely no driving issues, averaging 75 mph for the day, with only light showers once or twice. Arrived in Bradenton, Florida 11:15am. Opened trunk to standing water and found floorboards all fully soaked, so opened the car up, mopped up the trunk opened the doors and ran a fan for 4 hours in the blazing sun. I do not know where the leaks are from. Checked all fluids, putting in 1 quart of Brad Penn oil, but no other issues except a fried laptop from the high humidity in the trunk. I also thought quite a bit about the running rough issues. Car is fine in the morning and around town, but after long drives it runs very rough and idles very high. These long trips with higher engine speeds really point out some issues not considered by most of us.

From my Alaska trip I learned NOT to mount the ECM on the firewall because of heat-mount it elsewhere (mine is under nose) to avoid heat of long drives.Here is what I learned on this trip. The running issues were clearly fuel related, but the carb is freshly rebuilt with a new fuel line. The only unusual issues is the steady high heat of driving in 90 degree temps and the symptoms are kind of like a vacuum leak without the whistle. I got the bright idea that it reminded me of the old days of vapor locking, so I got online and sure enough ethanol lowers the vapor locking temperature substantially while also raising octane. I had been putting high octane fuel in the tank, but there is a Wawa within 1 mile of my Florida place that has ethanol free gas, so I filled up there, and when I left Thursday morning the car ran fine. The bad news was that at my first fuel stop in Naples, Florida I went ahead and filled up with high octane fuel and the car vapor locked and died when I left. After a 15 minute cool down I got it restarted and drove on. At my next stop I got low octane ethanol and added a can of octane booster-it still ran rough but did not vapor lock. I continued that until my last fill up late last night. My last tank was plain old 89 octane with ethanol and it still ran rough.Summary-ethanol fuel is horrible in high heat, the octane booster helped a bit, but high octane ethanol fuel makes it worse in the heat.

Thursday June 20, 2019. I left Bradenton Florida at 5:04am heading to Key West for what I thought would be 12 hours round trip according to Google. Never did I expect 17 and 1/2 hours of seat-time in temps well over 100 degrees and 80% humidity. The car ran fine all the way down but at stops it was very high heat (not overheating, just no air flow) and even the triple core radiator could not overcome sitting in traffic. People in Florida, particularly around Miami are car nuts, and the interest in the car was 5-10 times greater than on my Alaska trip. The traffic on the overseas highway south of Miami was heavy and slow, and as I enteredd Ley West around 1:30 I was worried about overheating the car (and myself). At one fuel stop they were measuring pavement temps over 130 degrees and the humidity was beyond belief. Finally about 2 miles from mile zero the temp gauge hit 230 while sitting in traffic and I pulled over for 30 minutes to some slight boil over and a cool down. The police came to check on me and the car as I sat on the curb in the shade, and both were fine, just overheated. Several car nuts took pictures and talked and gave me a back way to mile zero. I snapped a 1/2 dozen pictures in overheating conditions and decided to get the heck out of there. The car continued to toy with overheating until I finally got back up to speed 5 miles outside of town, but it made it. Unfortunately I was a casualty and did not yet know it-my vision started to go black at the edges and I realized the bathtub interior and high temps might be causing me heat stroke. I stopped at Marathon Key and went into an ice cream store and sat for an hour drinking water and cooling down. Finally felt better, got in the car and resumed the trip. To give you an idea of the heat, I drank 5 bottles of water, 2 big diet cokes and 1 big lemonade and never had to go to the bathroom.

Finally about 10:45pm last night I got back to the house in Bradenton. The car was magnificent-1 quart of oil so far the entire trip, some water leaks that don't matter in the driving, and it ran great with no break downs. Radio sound wasn't good because of wind noise, but that's it. The car will need a thorough cleaning today to get ready for the Bradenton Hooters car show tomorrow night, but it looks 99% as good as when restored. There was no rain on the Key West day so everything is now thoroughly dried out-17 hours of vented air on the carpet will do that.Strangely,I think yesterdays drive was worse than any day on the Alaska trip. It gets 2 weeks rest before driving home.

So, Superbird 177569 now has unique provenance, with pictures, of being driven to the furthest north legally drivable ground north of Fairbanks and the furthest south drivable part at Mile Zero in Key West. As the lucky chauffer of the car on both trips, I got to enjoy everyone's literal excitement, pure pleasure, exclamations, and even once or twice the tears of the people viewing the ride. But as I have said before, the car is the star, I am just a hanger-on the sidelines. They don't ask for pictures of the driver. The Key Dodge dealer yesterday in Key West asked me why I would drive such a beautiful restored car on a trip like this and my answer was the same as it was 4 years ago in Alaska-it doesn't bring me any joy looking at it sitting in the garage, the joy is seeing the reactions of people when they look at this incredible piece of American history.

The GoPro ran the entire trip, but until I can get a computer going I can't post anything off of it or my cell phone-maybe by the weekend. The pictures from the 7 mile bridge should be excellent, and maybe I can get the motorcycle guy in Miami that flew past, slowed up, got out his cell phone, gave me a thumbs up and then proceeded in heavy 70mph traffic to take a video from the left, the rear, the right and the front of the car before speeding off again! Or maybe the father and son taking visible delight at the gas station last night, or the young lady that pulled in front of me at the pump and exclaimed "you can't leave without me getting a picture" or the hundreds of other videos, honks, thumbs up and followers. The best memory was yesterday somewhere in the keys where I stopped for gas and a young couple with his 60+ year old Dad begged for pictures, sat in the car, talked, took more pictures, left and then came back for more, all to visible, emotional excitement.

See you on the road

Bob

[PettyMower]

Bob, I'm enjoying your trip updates.

I have a stock 440+6 in mine, and have only used 92-93 octane unleaded for many years. The car has been driven on long trips in over-90 degree temps. I have never had a single vapor lock, or fuel delivery issue. (Other than when the original tank was in dire need of replacement and plugged the fuel filter. But that had nothing to do with fuel or carburetion.)

I think there may be another issue causing it to not run well in warmer temps.

Have fun and SAFE TRAVELS!

Jay

[b5blue]

You nailed a dry weather window inside of weeks of rain! I hope you enjoy Florida for the rest of your stay. 

[taxspeaker]

Pics

[ACUDANUT]

Hope you have a Trunk Monkey.

[ACUDANUT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW8iAVwt_Yc

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Nice!

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

Damn, I was traveling for this entire thread!  Wow!  I wish I had known, I could have called Tim and had the Museum manager open it up for you.

Safe travels back!

[WINGIN IT]

More power to you Bob, bringing the bird to the people.
Please take care of yourself though, especially in that heat !

Couldn't hurt to have a trunk monkey ... 

[taxspeaker]

Trunk monkey-great ads! If he's back there he's fried though!
How you doing Joe?

[Swampwing2]

Glad you made it with no major issues. The best thing about our south Florida summer heat is that the roads are half as crowded, since the snow birds all left.

Bummer we could not connect, but glad you didn't need anything.

I only run the ethanol free 89 octane in my 10:1, iron head, 440. It runs way better than 93 with ethanol, especially when I don't use it as much and the fuel gets a little older. It pings a lot more on the 93 under hard acceleration.

[taxspeaker]

The heat was so bad in Florida that we went ahead and got back to Indiana early.

A summary for anyone interested:
2,844 miles round trip
Averaged almost exactly 12.5 MPG for trip, but speeds were probably 72 average on highway
Mechanical issues-lost 1 lug nut somewhere, car ran rough when heat soaked, used exactly 1 quart of oil, but no real issues. Water temp was fine at highway speeds but very high when heat soaked and in traffic as expected and normal-triple core radiator cannot overcome lack of airflow. Getting some rear end whine, so I will pull the 3rd member in a month or so and send it off to Gary for rebuilding.
1 car show attended in Bradenton where it won best of that small 100 car show
Physical damage-none I can find and I have been over every inch

Stories-I am summarizing now. Heat is a big part of all of them. There were no 20 mile chasedowns like on the Alaska trip, but several shorter ones.

Side note-met a gentleman in extreme southern Florida with 2 birds. He bought his new and his brother had bought his new. His brother has since passed away. Both cars undriven now for 10-15 years he says. I did get to see both sitting in his sister-in-law's commercial garage. Dirty but unwrecked, obvious road wear, some minimal rust around rear windows and rear quarters.-he said they washed them all the time and parked them in the garage since new.  His brother's is a V code, 4-speed console B5 blue, his is a U code, automatic bench red one. For the 2nd time since I have driven the cars I have been asked to buy someone's Bird since I am an obvious wierdo on wing cars. (My and his wife's words) he has asked me to buy the 2 of them. I told him I just don't have the money, but he is very aggressive on it, so he has given me till the end of July to get it. Sadly, my only option is to try and sell my Daytona to get the money, so it's on another thread. Not really sure if I want to do this, but damn that 6 pack is nice-41,000 miles and started easily. If I can't do it I think he will wait-he is adamant about no auctions "Let the kids sell them otherwise" is his quote. I will follow up if anything happens here.

I appreciate the board and members on this forum, thanks for the comments, offers for help and encouragement. See you in Alexander City in October.
Bob

[held1823]

mortgage the wife and kids before you sell a daytona to buy a superbird, be it one, two, or twenty of them

signed,

an obviously biased daytona fan

[b5blue]

Bob, deep respect to you for risking it all for the adventure!     

[WINGIN IT]

Glad you are home safe Bob !
Congrats on the trip, can't wait to see some footage.

And what are you some kind of Bird magnet???
You average 2 bird owners a year wanting to sell their cars to you.

While I would also lust after that console 4spd B5 bird ( hint hint ) , Sell the Daytona?? NOOOOOOOOO!!!   
Wouldn't it make more sense to sell the one you just "painted"  or the green one, to get a six pack 4spd ?? 

Seriously , call me if you are still thinking of selling the Daytona, ( and I'll talk you out of it, lol ) .