Taking a Road trip with a friend of mine in an FE

[fetorino]

Here is his post from the Lat G forum.

The plan started out as the former but became the latter.

Been looking patiently for an old vintage truck/hauler combo for almost a year and finally found one I really liked. But it couldn't be further away -- New Hampshire. No problem. After a few calls with the seller (ebay listing that did not meet reserve) it became a good enough reason to fly out and make a road trip back out of it all.

Since the truck has a 360" FT (beefier version of the FE) motor, the man for the job of co-pilot and Chief Fjord Engineer could only be that Torino guy, Rob.

Ok, pics do the best talking. Here she is in all her 34,000 original mile glory.










And here is the rough route we plan to take. We are heading up to get the truck next Thursday Jan 16 and are actually picking up a Camaro for a friend and bringing it back to Socal. So there's more justification to take a trip.







So if anyone is along our route, wants to try to meet up for a beer or just shoot the shiat, hit us up and we'll see if we can make it happen. Also, if you have any advice on what roads to avoid or fun car or eating places to hit, we are open for suggestions.

We are meeting up with Payton in NC to hook up and see some NASCAR related shops there for a day. I'm sure some beers will get drank. :cheers:

Rob is a fish taco & waffle sandwich snob and I am a beer snob so we are on the lookout for breweries and cool eats. We are using this site as a guide so far. Pretty cool.

http://www.tvfoodmaps.com/

3400 miles. No overdrive. A 40 year old truck none of us have ever seen before. Probably 8 mpg. What's not to like?

Wish us luck.   :popcorn2:

[My427stang]

Check the rear wheel seals, adjust/pack the front wheel bearings, grease the king pins, and carry a couple spares I bet it does just fine.

Things that get fussy on those old F-series when they sit around, wheel seals, wheel cylinders, tires, water pump, belts and hoses, fuel pump, u-joints get dry...really nothing major and a lot of the stuff you can see and address in a parking lot if you had to. 

One silly trick if it comes up, if the starter drive starts acting up, which they often do, just hold the key to start and let it whir for a while.  It'll build heat and when you let go and try again it'll usually crank normally. (Not forever, just to get it going again)

Looks like a nice clean truck, just bringing things up that could come up on such a long ride

[jmlay]

Sounds like a HOTROD RoadKill trip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOYlloxcRZA&list=PL2F227E64499889DB&index=21

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2F227E64499889DB

[Drew Pojedinec]

Awesome!  I saw that truck on ebay.  Super cool.  Would be ideal hauling a late 60's early 70's racecar to the track.

[thatdarncat]

It should be an adventure, keep us posted as you go. I've only seen your route from Oklahoma west. There is a small car museum in Santa Rosa NM along I-40 worth stopping at, not a lot there but it's cheap and a good excuse to get out and stretch. When I was there a few years ago they had a dressed out 406 in the lobby! Here's a link:

http://www.route66automuseum.com/#!__route-66-auto-museum

You also parallel Route 66 most of that way to California, do some google searching if you're interested in any of those sights. The section in Arizona north of I-40 heading into Kingman has been restored, I made the detour just to say I've been on it. Of course by that point in the trip you may just want to get home, lol.  REF headers is in Kingman AZ, I've never been there, but might be an interesting stop. I wish I was along your route to say hi, but I'm a lot further North and a lot colder. Good Luck.

[cjshaker]

One serious suggestion to go with Ross'.....take some very warm clothing! Just in case.

I'd also add a coil, points, plugs and condenser to that list. Good luck.

[thatdarncat]

A couple other things I didn't see anyone address, you should check out each states guidelines for weigh stations, registration, etc. that you are going through. I had a friend with a F600 ramp truck get hassled in a couple states, even though it was just for his own use. I know yours is a F350, but still best to be prepared. I have also bought vehicles out of state and been hassled driving them back. It doesn't matter what your state's registration requirements might be, the trooper is going to go by his state's law. If you have the title in hand now I'd say get the license plates ahead of time, but you maybe don't. Make sure all your paperwork is in order, and don't let the other party make a mistake signing or dating anything. Most likely you won't have any issues, but I speak from experience, it happens. One other thing, if you do end up taking I-10 like some have suggested know that there is a Homeland Security checkpoint west of El Paso. Not a big deal and it usually moves quickly.

[Hemi Joel]

This should be an awesome road trip, I'm looking forward to progress reports!

Speaking of Santa Rosa, there is a vintage military tank in a little park on the south side of town, off 54 & 84, that you can check out and go inside of, the hatch is open.

At Holbrook AZ, be sure to check out the wigwam motel, real teepees with a lot of old cars and trucks as props.

Check the weather in flagstaff, it can be brutal in January. If it looks bad, turn south on 54 at Santa Rosa, shoot down to Alamogordo, then over to Los Cruces and take I-10 west. Even if the weather is good, sometimes I go that way if I am heavy loaded, because I-40 has some serious grades (starting at Albuquerque when you are heading west)  that are hard on brakes, fuel, and slow going up.  54 is a nice easy drive, and 10 from Los Cruces to Phoenix is too.

Those Ford one tons are notorious for loose rear brake adjustments, putting all the load on the front brakes. Take a few minutes before you hit the road and tighten up the adjusters. You can do it with a bottle jack and you don't need to remove the wheels.
Tork the lug nuts after 100 miles or so. I lost a wheel on a dually on one of our service trucks  before because someone swapped a tire and didn't recheck the nuts later.

Put some cardboard over half of the radiator, to help the heater performance, but remember to take it out when you get into warmer territory.

Make sure you have a signed bill of sale if you do not have the truck registered in your name yet. I had a cop problem driving home in a new purchase, and I had the signed title but he still wanted to see the BOS, which I didn't have. 2 hours of BS before they ley me go.

Good   luck, have fun!

[fetorino]

It looks like our first leg on Friday the 17th will be an attempt to make it from Ossipe NH to Philadelphia.   Anyone have some suggestions for a route, places to stay, eat or general advice.

[65er]

No advice Rob, just wanted to cheer you on a bit.  Hope the trip goes smooth for you guys and have a good time.  Sounds like fun!

[BruceS]

Rob,
I see you'll be going thru Nashville; besides the Country Music Hall of Fame (great place to visit if you haven't been) there's a car museum that I really like.  It's called the Lane Motor Museum.  It's housed in an old dairy with wood floors, etc.  No Fords, but lots of unique cars, motorcycles, and stuff mainly foreign especially mini and micro cars.  For some reason I've always has a soft spot for Isettas and Messerschmidts!  Last time we went they gave a small group of us a tour of the basement; two-thirds of the cars are down there...
If Nashville doesn't work out for you, try Memphis. Stay downtown at the Hampton Inn close to Beale St. which is where the entertainment is. We had dinner at BB King's Club, great food and even better music!  Try the Memphis-style ribs... Of course there's always Elvis's home Graceland which is close to the downtown area.
I can remember when those trucks were brand new.  I considered them modern since I was driving a '67 F100 at the time that I put 150k+ miles on. I'd check this one out to make sure the heat works - it will make things a lot more comfy...

Bruce

[mlcraven]

If you're going through Nashville and doing the Country Music Hall of Fame, be sure and visit the Ryman Theatre as well.  Be safe.

[cbolze]

I suggest taking no less than half a dozen fuel filters and new wiper blades. Also swing through Hersey PA for a chocolate bar. Skip DC and take the eastern shore.
Courtney.

ADD: Change the brake fluid, don't want to boil the moisture out of it on the down hill side somewhere in Tennessee  .
Check the cam sprocket for the nylon teeth falling off by turning the crank shaft pulley back and forth and watching the distributor/rotor movement. repeat at about 180 degrees dist rotation. Maybe someone can add in here if this year/model FE/FT had a nylon coated cam sprocket.

[mlcraven]

Suspect you're already on the road so this will be time late but X2 on avoiding DC - either Eastern Shore (DELMARVA Pen and CBBT) or go west and take I81. Also, if you want to see a pile of FEs, GT40s, Cobras and Fred Lorenzen's back up race car visit the Holman Moody shop in Charleston...Lee Holman (son) is an interesting fellow to chat with   

[Hemi Joel]

I hope all is well on the trip.  How about an update from the road?