Today was to be just some minor maintenance before starting back to Nebraska tomorrow. Turned out to be not so minor. A lot of play between the rear axle and the sealed bearing on one side. Had to make a shim to drive into place. See the post on my daily report at http://www.modelts.rsomuchfun.com/
Thanks again to Lee Pierce who helped me get this repaired for my return trip. I will be heading to Yuma, AZ tomorrow.
Thanks for the update. Stay hydrated. Hit the Cloud Museum if you can.
rdr
Coburg b&b
Don't "hit" the museum stop and see the museum if you can. If you hit the museum there will be endless threads about Model T's and their braking ability.
Have a safe trip and keep the interesting posts coming.
Lol, that's like when people when say they are going to "run" to the restroom. I laugh and say "If you run, I'm going to laugh."
Steve
Thanks for keeping us posted.
Have a safe trip.
A coworker years ago used to always say "go forward ahead. Don't go straight ahead because if you go straight ahead the road will bend a little and you will run off the road".
Gotta admit he was right.
Definitely, drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Steve, We'll be waiting for your posts every night.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip back. Yes, You must stop by the Cloud even if its just a drive by. There's no other place like it!
Thanks for sharing your trip!
I got into Yuma at about 3:45. The cloud museum sounds great, but it is mostly open only in the winter. It is 106 degrees out there and I don't know that I want to go for a drive to find a museum that probably isn't open. Great idea though. I'll see how I feel about it when I go out for dinner.
Car ran very well today. 169 miles today and 2029 miles since I left. There are actually a few more miles than that but my batteries died in my GPS so didn't log a few miles on the tour on Saturday. I will continue to just use the GPS mileage.
Update from last night. I did go out to the Cloud museum. It was closed, as expected, but did get to look through the fence at the outside stuff. A neighbor and friend stopped by and we talked for a while.
I am camping tonight just outside of Sedona, AZ. I hope to post some pictures tonight if the wi-fi works well. It is 66 degrees, so should be a good night for sleeping. There was rain here earlier and might rain again tonight. I will just make sure things are buttoned up just in case.
Glad to hear you are progressing well good luck Lee
Steve,
Have a safe trip back. Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you while you were here, but I'll be following your trip home. Maybe I'll have to drive my T back to Nebraska to meet you and Rob Heyen!
Best wishes, Bob
Steve Hughes:
Again, when you get in Colorado, if you have a problems let me know and I will help you.
Lee, Thanks again for all your help. Glad you are following my progress back home.
Bob, Too bad we didn't have a chance to meet. Rob and I will be waiting for your drive out here!
Dave, I am in Colorado now. I am staying the night in Cortez. It would be great meeting you, but hopefully not due to problems. Car is running great for now. You never know when that will change though, so I really appreciate the offer for help.
It was a great run today. The drive from Sedona up to Flagstaff is absolutely gorgeous. That is my kind of country. The high plains from Flagstaff on is OK, but not my favorite scenery. The main problem with it is that there is so much of it. Lots of miles of it to go through. I got stopped by the Navajo County Sheriff today. He said I was "driving too slow" I think he just wanted to check out the car.
I will be getting my daily report up kind of late tonight as I still have some other things to complete. Wi-fi is working well, however, so it will be up sometime tonight.
Just got today's report posted. Drove lots of backroads today. Gravel, with very steep grades and tight switchbacks. Lots of fun to drive. Car is running great. It developed a miss just before I got in last night. I isolated it to #2 cylinder. I swapped out the coil, but that didn't seem to help. This morning I got some Marvel Mystery Oil and added it to the gas. The miss cleared right up. I think a valve was sticking.
Did you get to ride the train from Durango to Silverton? That is a real experience. Also close to Mesa Verde National Park.
Norm
Norm, I didn't do the steam train this time around. I did the Durango to Silverton ride a couple of years ago though. Also skipped Mesa Verde. Lots of stuff to see along the way. It would take months instead of weeks if I stopped to do it all.
Tried to drive over Royal Gorge bridge today, but it was closed to car traffic. They had equipment on it to work on the zip line cable.
I am in Manitou Springs tonight, and will be doing Pike's Peak tomorrow before heading on east from here. Only a couple of more days to home.
Total mileage so far is 3073.
Sorry that I haven't posted here for a couple of days. I didn't have internet service on Saturday. I didn't make it all the way to the top of Pike's Peak. I got to mile 17 and only 2 miles and 1000 feet of elevation to go when I lost #4 rod bearing. Thanks to Steve Coniff's help and Clay Whitney for supplying a replacement rod I got back on the road today. I just got Saturday and Sunday daily reports up on my website.
I am in Limon, CO tonight. I should be home on Tuesday if I have no more car troubles.
The Model T community is sure a great bunch of guys. I would have really been stuck without Steve Coniff's shop and expertise. I have been able to find help available wherever I have needed it.
You had me worried there for 2 days. I was about to call your wife Im glad you are back on the road again Did you see the post about our Coronado Tour that Norm Kling posted in the Forum ? I just
helped a friend replace a#3 rod It was all in
pieces Have a nice trip home Lee
Steve,
It's been great reading your daily logs. I'm sorry to read about your engine trouble climbing Pike's Peak, but it's great to see Model T folks helping along the way.
I wish you well on the last leg of your journey. I look forward to reading it when you post it.
Orlando
Sorry to hear about the rod problem, but happy that you got help and were able to fix it and get back on the road. Yours is not a new problem because the cars are old. I remember hearing about problems my grandpa had when crossing the country in a Model T back in 1926 when the car was only a few years old.
Norm
Thanks for your concerns guys, but the car is back to running good. I went 347 miles today after going about 40 miles out of the way from another wrong turn. I have just gotten the update posted for today. Check it out to see what trials I had today.
One more day on the road and I will be back home. Then it is back to work on the things that need to be done there.
Steve,
What a fascinating journal! Like you said, the Model T community is a great group of people, and I'm glad to see you got some help in your times of need.
Have a safe trip home!
Bill
Well, the journey had ended. I am home now. A total of 3734 miles driven. Just got today's updated posted, and plan to post a summary in a couple of days after having time to gather thoughts and reflect on the ups and downs encountered along the way.
Steve,
Congratulations on your successful journey. And a great big THANK YOU for logging each day and sharing it with us.
I'm know you've inspired many, including myself.
I look forward to reading your summary.
Orlando
Congratulations on a journey well enjoyed!
(Guess I don't need to use my usual closing this time.)
W2
Thanks Steve for your timely postings during your trip. We all enjoyed reading of your adventure and viewing the pictures as well. Glad you made it home safely!
Steve
Thank you very much for sharing your trip.
Steve Hughes:
Thanks for the interesting log, I really enjoyed it. Its too bad that more people don't get out and drive their Ts. I have driven to the West Coast three times including a couple of times to Washington and really enjoyed each trip.
I finally got the summary posted for my trip. I hope you all enjoyed following along, and maybe inspired some of you to try some longer trips with your T.