30 plus hours in a 55 year old car

Drove my 55 sunliner to Daytona beach over thanksgiving for a big show at the race track,on the way down drove through rain without wipers for over 400 miles with the top seals leaking and a spring in the seat poking my back if I sat on it wrong,I did have some modern conviences since I converted it to 12 volts like a stereo and portible satelite so I did not have to fumble for radio stations and a GPS to use for speed since the speedo was off over 10 MPH. I had a blast driving it and drove all over when I got down there and got pictures of it on the beach to prove I was there,had no problems with it during the trip but I think I pushed my luck with the junkyard trans thats in it as its making noises now when first fired up after sitting over night. The whole drivetrain will be gone through before its next long trip as the rear end howled a little so I just turned the radio up to drown it out this time,I almost pulled the trans and had it gone through but did not want to waste the money on it since its going back somewhat to original in the next couple years but it lasted through this trip so I got my 65 dollars worth out of it as it has about 10,000 miles on it since being installed. Might take my 37 Chevy p/u down next year if I go but it will be on a tow dolly as the cab is way too small for a 950 mile drive.

Cool trip!

Yup- they'd make those trips when they were new and "just used" cars, and they'll make them now.

Sounds like you had a fun trip. Glad the ole gal got you there and home safely.

You're using it the way it was intended.

Back in '98 we drove our '63 Impala convertible from New Orleans to the AACA Founders Tour in the San francisco Bay area, and back again. Additional stops included Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Roy Rogers' place (then in Victorville, CA) and sang "Happy Trails" with Roy and Dale Evans, Redlands, Sequoiah National park, Hearst Castle, Pacific Coast Highway all the way through Big Sur to the 17? mile drive at Pebble Beach, the tour itself, driving up, and then down Lombard Street (crookedest), then on to Yosemite Park, the grapevine, Las vegas Strip on a top-down Saturday Night, Zion, Bryce, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Anasazi territory, Sedona, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, and back home.

The only mechanical hiccup was a loss of brake fluid externally at the right rear wheel where the steel line goes to the wheel cylinder. Charlie Froehlich snugged it up for me with my 5/16ths line wrench (he figured I'd probably over-tighten it). I added some DOT-5 silicone brake fluid to the master cylinder, and the car was fine through the time that it got "damp" in Hurricane Katrina.

See you down the road.....

The last time it was in Florida was back in 59 before I was even thought of,the next time it goes back I hope to have a Y block back under the hood.

I just got back from Florida again and the weather was better this year but might have to put another motor in to do it again next year,it made it back but has some noises. Still collecting parts to put a Y block back in so I might be on the hunt for a used 351 to get me by until the 292 is gone through or find a running parts car with a good Y block.