Photos by the author and Derek Klein.

Every morning the crews light a votive candle to the Old Car Holy Trinity: Spark, Fuel and Compression. These are the three spirits we need to appease in order to continue to move this fragile expedition forward. It is a tenuous relationship, but so far the gods have smiled upon us.

The Mustang being the slight exception. The car has become a “two-footer” in city traffic. It repeatedly kills at stoplights and requires one foot on the brake while the other feathers the throttle. On the open road, when engaging the secondaries on the Holley, it wants to run forever. It’s the primary circuit on the carburetor that seems to be ill-suited to low-speed city driving. This is no surprise; the car is originally a “C” code 289 and certainly the heads and cam have not been matched to meet the aftermarket Edelbrock intake and larger carb. But as previously mentioned it has not dampened our enthusiasm for the car, but only requires extra attention when driving.

Read the rest in Hemmings News.

Photos by the author and Derek Klein.

No plan is perfect, and there’s nothing like a cross-county road trip to prove the point. Back when the idea of this trip from the LeMay/America’s Car Museum in Tacoma to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit was hatched, ACM CEO David Madeira threw out the invitation to the volunteer corps of ACM to see who might want to join the caravan in their own vehicles. One man stepped up, without hesitation. Gregg Smith volunteered to bring his 2014 Charger as a support vehicle, not for a day or two, but for the whole 3,000-mile trip to the Motor City.

Unfortunately, after a long day driving, plus a heavy meal and a craft beer, the otherwise clear organization and communication suffered a hiccup.

Read the rest in Hemmings News.

All we have arrived safely without incident in Boise. It’s been cold high teens and twenties but no storms and periods of sunshine.

The cars drove well without incident. Drivers did a great job on some icy mountain roads. Once again the Michelins were superb. We have been able to find Shell products all along the way and have been delighted to find their non ethanol gas so perfect in vintage cars! We have only used two quarts of oil in the three cars combined speaking volumes to me about how good these oils are. Some oils burn quickly not these!

The journalists and video team are also doing a great job. Bill Hall is posting a story each day on Hemmings. Check the ACM website for photos and stories and links.

See the shots from my phone as I rolled along in the Mustang. Enjoy!

Photos by Bill Hall and Derek Klein.

Day 2 started early for the crews. The cross-country expedition from the LeMay/America’s Car Museum to The North American International Auto Show in Detroit has wound east of Bend, Oregon, and is headed for Boise, Idaho. Ahead of us lies the high desert of Eastern Oregon.

The cars are settling in nicely, and the crews are all feeling a sense of accomplishment for navigating the snowy pass the night before. The morning is clear and cold, and we are sure to give the cars plenty of warm-up time as we deal with the small items that plague old cars in winter; frozen locks and sticky weatherstripping. Each of the cars cranks easily and idles well…

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Our send off from Tacoma featured remarks from Paul Sabatini, Chair of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and Rod Alberts, Executive Director of the North American International Auto Show who flew from Detroit to join us. Our Chairman Corry McFarland and Mayor Marilyn Strickland also provided words of thanks to all who helped including lead sponsor State Farm‘s representative (and ACM Steering Committee Member) Rock Jenkins who joined the send off.

In Portland Host Keith Martin brought out the journalists and did a great job telling the story and purpose of The Drive Home. See the film clip from Portland here.

It’s about 15 degrees right now as we get ready for today’s drive to Boise.

Time to fill my thermos with hot coffee and hit the road soon.

David

The last time I was in a Chrysler 300G, Ronald Reagan was president and premium gas hovered at 97 cents a gallon. A college dorm mate had borrowed his brother’s coupe for the weekend – a laAnimal House‘s Kent Dorfman – and piled five of us in, boiling the rear tires at every stoplight. As a GM guy, I remember being absolutely shocked at the unbridled fury emanating from that Chrysler cross-ram 413 engine. It left quite an impression.

Eager to renew my acquaintance with Chrysler’s early muscle car, I jumped at the chance to pilot another 300 on the first leg of The Drive Home, a 2,400 mile, mid-winter road trip from LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 11th.

Read the rest on Hemmings Daily

Day 1 is a success on The Drive Home! We departed the Museum at 10am joined by members for local Nomad and Mustang clubs and other enthusiasts. One enthusiast drove his vintage Ford F-150 to Portland with us where Keith Martin and American Car Collector magazine generously hosted our group for lunch. They were joined by ACM Board Members Neal Arntson and Bob and Susan Falleur and several local media outlets. The trip slowed in the afternoon as we headed over the Mt. Hood Highway toward Bend driving 100 miles in a heavy snowstorm over numerous mountain passes. The cars ran great and we are thankful to have all fuels, oils and antifreeze supplied by Shell who consulted with us on types and weights of fuel for each car. I must say the winter tires provided by Michelin were superb on the often icy and snowy roads and while we saw many vehicles by the side of the road, but we had no issues!

We arrived in Bend where 20 enthusiasts were waiting to greet us and a good number having brought their cars.

All in all a good day. Tomorrow – 300 miles to Boise!

David