HRPT Day 3 - It Just Keeps Getting Better.

It Just Keeps Getting Better.

Last night we went to bed without 1st and 2nd gears. The plan was to get up this morning at daybreak and head for Gulf Shores and swap cars.

When I turned the ignition switch this morning, nothing happened. Upon closer examination we found that the back of the original 1951 switch had separated from the part the key slips into. Inside the switch are three contacts which are supported by small springs. Apparently, one of the springs had burned up from the heat of the electricity passing through the switch. 

Since I am traveling with McGiver, this was no big problem. After an hour, Harold "McGiver" had carved a metal post from an electrical butt splice part and substituted it for the missing part. Bobbie Sue cranked and we began a day of driving without 1st or second gear. Which is pretty good except when you have to start from a stop at a light or stop sign. I confess the rolling Hollywood style stop was used many times.

We made it to Gulf Shores and discovered that the belt squeal we had heard intermittently for the last couple of hours wasn't the power steering pump as we had guessed. It was our alternator on its last legs. We probably couldn't have driven another 50 miles before it locked up.

At the shop, we prepped the '84 Mustang GT350, "Sally John", for the road. She had not been driven on the road in a year so her air conditioner had to be charged and the fluids checked.

While we were in the process of charging the air conditioner, the Mustang stopped starting. After 30 minutes we found a broken wire to the coil. We re-attached it and now it starts just fine. We are now scratching our heads and wondering if this is cause of the intermittent starting problem we've seen over the past couple of years. We were really glad to find this at the shop before we hit the road. The shop is air conditioned and working on a car in the cool is much better than on the side of the road in the heat.

This trip is a shakedown trip for the Mustang. Although its restoration was completed more than four years ago. Its longest previous trip was less than 100 miles. Today we stopped along the way and added more Freon. It's finally cooling tburn up the engine? Is it just a gauge problem?he interior like it should. We're hoping that the temperature gauge is not working properly. It pegged Hot most of the trip. But, the radiator was cool enough you could put your hand on the cap and the burp jug did not indicate that any coolant was boiling over. I'm worried. Harold says don't worry. Its just a sick gauge. The suspense continues. Will we burn the motor up?

Tonight we are in Prattville, AL. We are two tired puppies. We've been on the road or swapping cars for over 13 hours today. We never made it to the venue site which was a drag racing track on the outskirts of Montgomery. We're off again tomorrow. The destination is Nashville.

Tom