I haven't been following this Bob cuz it weren't my truck nor my back yard but I think I
will relay my experience with old trucks and trips. I took a quick look at the comments
this morning and I gotta go along with the other guys.
Last year in September my buddy Pete and I were gonna drive our trucks, his '52 and my
'50, out to the Stovebolt reunion in KC from Chicago. I didn't get mine back together in
time but Peter rabbit, being the go-getter he is, had his all ready to go by September. I
gotta admit, I had some doubts about hitting the road with a freshly rebuilt stock truck
and 216 babbitt pounder but off we went Wednesday Morning with the sun at our backs.
Not wanting to take the interstate we took the old state highways that you would have
used back in the day thru all the small towns and 500 miles later on Thursday night we
were having dinner with the Stovebolt bunch. Over the next couple of days we probably
put another couple hundred miles on her driving around KC to tour Jim Carters and
Classic Part and just sight seeing in general.
The trip back was just as uneventful and we both have a 1,000 mile plus trip a across the
country to talk about.
We'd planed on doing it again this year with both trucks but once again, Graham was
dragging his feet. However, at the end of September I did get mine back together and
since then have put over 1,500 miles on it with out incident much of that were trips a 100
or so miles from the barn. I really wouldn't have any qualms about driving it on a long
trip, that is as long as I didn't have to try and stay up with traffic.
If your truck only has 4,500 miles on it since it was rebuilt, then it just getting broke in
and it should be a fun trip.
I've been talking about driving Bluebelle up to Alaska ever since I read about someone
else doing it as a fund raiser, but that idea sprouted a few years ago when I was much
younger and I'm much older now and 1,000 miles at a crack are about as fur as I want to
venture from home.
The suggestion about joining a national auto club is a capital idea. My buddy's
back up was his son in-law who has a car hauler. Me? Well I'm still looking into what to
do if I had to have her hauled home from KC.
Denny G
Last edited by Peggy M; 11/22/2023 12:02 AM.
