5 hours delay

There are better places and temperatures to change a wheel w/ exploded tire...

Couldn't get the car more on the shoulder (too steep):

Lucky the new wheel survived:

Changed it and had it replaced at a nearby shop.... I wasn't the only customer that day so I took 5 hours delay.

The continuing route was awesome!! (Zion and the 89)

Good job. Those trucks whizzing by make the whole car rock don't they? Glad you made it safely! Great looking Electra by the way!

Rob,

Hang in there. You just might be the unluckiest guy so far. Great scenery.

Stevo

Lucky the new wheel survived:

The continuing route was awesome!! (Zion and the 89)

Rob, What happened to that tire? Was it just old? Or was there an unavoidable road hazzard? Good job keeping that old girl under control. And a sweet ride. Love those big Electras....

John,

it was even a brand new tire (not even 1500 mls on it. I don't know what happened.

The situation even worsened here:

I was warned for a part of the I-70 where there are no services or whatsoever for about 120 mls. So my trip started (as planned) at the start of that part of the route Richfield, UT

I double checked on all fluids, tires etc before leaving. Electra started right up... no signs for any upcoming trouble.

Guess where I suddenly had a few backfires in the exhaust and the ignition gave up..... With my bad karma that could only be right in the middle of that 120 mls. (Mile 98 to be exact)

Thought it was smart buying new points and distributor cap etc when this trip started and have em as spare in the trunk. So I thought standing on the shoulder again the engine would be running within half an hour orso.

Changed points and all, but car still didn't want to start:(

At that point I was out of alternatives for I had no way to check the ignition.(except no spark on a spare spark plug I always keep for checking that way)

An hour orso later (no network for my (or any other) cellphone there) a truck driver stopped and gave us a ride to the 60mls further Green River where I called for a tow truck.

$375.00 and 2 1/2 hours later the Electra was in Green River.

There the mecanic found the wire from the coil to distributor went bad and replaced it (costs for a 3" long piece of wire maybe $0.02).

Finally we continued our goal for today.... Arches, where we arrived around 1830hr.

The route through Arches is more or less a one way:

Told you about my bad karma.....ofcourse at the most far end again ignition appeared broken (like it is missing 1 or 2 cylinders) We were able to get out of the park and make it to Moab in L1-L2 revving the engine to gain enough RPM to drive. Tomorrow again to a shop to sort out what is happening with the ignition.... and than in almost a straight line to Colorado Springs.

No kidding, bad karma. You remind me of, and I can't remember the cartoon, the little guy that always had the black rain cloud over his head. I sure hope the rest of the trip and your return home are less eventful.

That is a beautiful Electra. Looks just like my '72 but a different color and you have better paint.

Dan

I almost forgot, in the first photo it looks like somebody else had bar karma there before you arrived.

Dan..... that was from my tire

This Electra is a 30 footer. It had a really bad repaint a few years ago. Once in Holland it will get a new repaint (same color)

I just pulled the spark plug wires one by one... only on the number 1 cylinder there was no significant change while the engine was idling.... so probably the wire went bad while checking for sparks this afternoon...I leave that for tomorrow morning.... daylight and open stores/shops.

BTW: Arches national park is the most beautiful scenery I ever witnessed. I won't show the non-Buick related photos here, but there is a connection with Buicks in this one:

How long since you tuned the old girl up? :eek: Paint looks good, but it don't make em run. Dandy Dave!

It had a complete tune up before we left LA (including brand new tires, fluids etc). Now going for a shop.... hope it is not a blown headgasket

Wow, what a pain that must have been, the blown tire would have been bad enough

I'm thinking spark plug wires, unless you already changed them. What a shame to have so much trouble from a Buick.

It had a complete tune up before we left...

BINGO!!!

Now you know what happened to your points wire.

Almost made it..... it was a spark plug wire that went bad... replaced it this morning Engine ran fine...... Till 100 mls from Colorado Springs (Silverthorne CO) At 1700hrs 1 or more exhaust valve gave up going uphill... Had the car towed away again to a shop (closed already... open on Monday) booked a hotel.... tried to find a rental car to come over to CS in a rental... but or no rentals left or closed already... So here we are: stuck in the middle of nowhere no transportation or whatsoever till at least Tuesday.....:(

Happy 4th!!

Damn! Exhaust valves. What tells you that happened? Are you sure it's not another plug wire?

Sorry, was away for a while...had to walk from hotel to the car to get us our clothes etc

Loosing all power going uphill (in L1 slower than a pedestrian) Was just able to reach a shoulder. Engine starts but very rough..... I don't have the tools to check anything like that nor the ignition.

It's only a guess, but I doubt it's exhaust valves. I had burnt exhaust valves in my 56 and it still had enough power to move at highway speeds. I'm thinking clogged fuel filter, or disintegrating vacuum hoses. If you get the car started, does it still have power brakes? If not, then check your vacuum lines.

Last summer before going to Flint I changed one deteriorating vacuum hose on my GS. Unfortunately I used a hose that was too large in diameter. When the car warmed up the hose began leaking and I had a terrible time with the car. Although I had enough power to travel at highway speeds, the engine ran rough most of the way. The hotter the weather, the worse the problems. Ruined a nice trip.

Anyway, I suspect you may have a bad hose going to the brake booster, which would be a much larger hose than the one I had a problem with. You may be able to find replacement hose first thing in the AM on the 4th, although I would check for a NAPA or Advantage Auto close to where you are. All you'll need is a pair of pliers if this is right.

I really hope you're right about the valves.

The vacuum I already checked before (found out about that the hard way last year). Couldn't find any abnormalties though.

But the fuel filter is definately something I will check tomorrow in the morning although yesterday I saw it coming into the carb But was it enough? Will check on the filter and the pump. Thanks!!

Since I can't go anywhere tomorrow I can spent all my time on the car.

Edit: since it is the 4th tomorrow and auto part shops might be closed: what is the best way to clean a dirty fuel filter and re-use it for the time being?

Is there anyone in Colorado Springs that you know that might be willing to pick you up and get you there. 100 miles isn't that far if they knew you were in trouble. You could go back to get the Electra after the weekend and probably with more help than you need.

At the very least, this deserves a story in an upcoming Bugle.

Dan

As an after thought, did you ask at the shop to see if they have a car they might rent to you for the weekend? A lot of times people in these small towns are more than willing to help if they know the circumstances. Maybe you can hire someone to drive you to COS. After all, they can hold your car hostage.

Dan

Rob, most parts stores will be open today, the 4th, but man you need to get to the Nationals. If I was there I'd be on my way to pick you up and bring you. Hopefully somebody will or as Dan suggested perhaps the garage folks could get or give you a ride. You're simply TOO CLOSE to miss it.

BEFORE you take off that filter, check your points and condensor again. The more I thought about this the more it reminds me of a time we had a wire pull out of the condensor on a 65 Electra. Started, but no idle per-se and it had to be towed away.

Have you done a fuel filter on these quadrojet's before? If so you might remember that the filter is a paper filter in that housing. I don't know of anyway to clean that other than a spray with an airgun. That might work. But the bigger problem is getting the filter housing back in without stripping the threads on the fitting.

Basically the theory I follow is don't mess with it except as a last resort, and if you do, remember that there is a spring in there with the filter. This means you need to push the assembly towards the carb while turning the fitting to get it started. If it were me, I'd continue pushing untill I had 5 or six turns on the threads. You just push hard enough to compress the spring and try to minimize metal to metal contact on the threads while getting the fitting started.

And Dan and Mr. Earl are right too. Wish I could be there to come out and pick you up for the show.

Thanks for the tips. Checked for the ignition yesterday again (Points are looking good and there is a gap) Bought a multimeter yesterday so I can check it more properly I will be going to the car now. (943 Blue River parkway Silverthorne CO). I'm staying at the Silver Inn Hotel (same street number 675) Will check the 71 chassis manual on changing fuel filter.

Thanks for all the support!!!!!

My phone number 003154782282

Check to make sure the bolt that holds down the distributor is not loose. If it is, then the car will want to retard the timing because the distributor will turn. When that happens, you will have no power, and the car will want to die...and overheat.

She's alive!!! Short reply for we want to head for CS ASAP now: I was lucky to find an old GM mecanic who still had a dwell meter..... That did the trick...Later more....Thanks for all your support. Hopefully no more bad karma till CS....

GLAD TO HEAR Rob!!! Hope you make it there without any further problems and have a great time. You deserve it. Where are you headed after CS?

I sure am glad to hear you are on your way although you are there by now. After all this, surely good karma will follow you for all the days of your life.

I was to the point that I was thinking about your hard luck after I went to bed at night.

Good luck and be sure to let those of us at home how the rest of the trip went.

Dan