How far have you traveled to purchase a car?

[Xander Wildeisen]

With the Chrysler loaded up, left Boise for Rawlings Wyoming. 8+ hours of driving, 586 miles. Not the most scenic drive. Idaho into upper part of Utah, then across Wyoming. Only stops are gas stations and the hotel in Rawlings. Dinner with a couple of Long Island ice teas.

[Xander Wildeisen]

This picture captures what you see driving across Wyoming.

[Rivguy]

I often look on the Los Angeles area CraigsList for cars even though LA is almost 400 miles from my house in San Jose. In the last seven years I've bought three cars from Southern Ca.  The first was my XJS, running but not driveable. I picked up the trailer out by the Pomona Fairplex near where the car was located. My '07 F150 is V6 powered and the load was right at my max towing limit of 6,000 lbs. The truck had to work hard to crest the Cuesta Grade on US101!

 

The second car was my XJ6L , I had gone down to look at another car, an XJR, which wasn't as described. I found my XJ6L for sale on a lot in Silver Lake and bought it after a test drive. I arranged to come back in a week with a rental car that I would drop off near the car lot. My Wife and I drove the Jag home. I had a good couple of years with this car, I even drove it on vacation to Washington state.

 

It was only about five months ago when I found my '07 Mustang in the SoCal CL. I arranged (well actually my Wife makes all the arrangements!) to have a trailer available if I decided to buy it.

 

After I made the decision, there was a lot of running around between the bank and the U haul lot. The first trailer we had been promised was not available and we had to find another one. We found a trailer at a dealer in Pacoima, which was located in an old automotive repair yard. The place reeked of marijuana, and believe it or not, the warehouse where their office was located was rented out as a location for the filming of a rap video while we filled out paperwork! There was an actor with a pillowcase over his head, a couple of hopefully prop guns and a good looking actress as well as a  new Bentley SUV parked as a prop in the video. Crammed outside was a Maybach that was being used by the producer. We just went along with the program until the trailer was hooked up. I was glad to get away with the trailer and load up the Mustang to head home.

 

We got a late start at 4:00 and didn't get home until after one in the morning. I drove back on highway 5 which was a little easier on the truck. My truck has 165,000 miles on it, the same mileage as my Daughter's Mustang that had the tranny go out. I was pretty worried during the drive home but experienced no problems on the trip, except that I-5 was closed due to a fire and we had to be diverted to alternate highways. 

[Xander Wildeisen]

Rawlings Wyoming to Council Bluff Iowa. 9+ hours of driving, 649 miles.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Sidney Nebraska, more coffee and more gas.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Met up with the couple that purchased the Chrysler in Council Bluff. Schedule worked out perfectly. They used to own a 1938 Chrysler Imperial Coupe. Always cool to see someone have memories about a car they used to have. And have the desire to purchase another one. Car is in good hands, what ever they decide to do with it.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Council bluffs Iowa to Branson Missouri. 6 hours, 390 miles. Here is a good picture showing what you see along the way.

[Xander Wildeisen]

In Branson, looks like a fun town. I had no time to check it out. Plan is to drop down into Arkansas in the morning. Load the car, and get as far down the road as I can.

[Xander Wildeisen]

And here is a 1953 Hudson Hornet Hollywood Hardtop.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Getting ready to leave the hotel in Branson. And drive down into Arkansas. Weather reports show thunderstorms in Oklahoma, and high heat warnings in Texas and New Mexico. That is the way I was going to go back. Going back the way I came was an option. Car was in Mountain View Arkansas. Up in the northern part of the state. You drive through some small towns on the way. Cell coverage goes in and out. Past the road to turn on. Had to go back a few miles. Seller ended up having to met me. And I followed him back to his house. He had a couple of Hudson’s there. The Hollywood and a pacemaker/wasp sedan. Those cars are for sale, if anyone is interested. The Hollywood is rough, when Mother Nature does your body modifications like pancaking your hood. You know the rest is bad. Could be saved I guess.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

The area is nice, guessing it gets pretty humid in the summertime. Here is what I went all that way for. A 1952 Hudson Hornet club coupe. I have always had one of these on my must have list. 52 is the best looking step down IMO. Wanted a project car in decent condition that has not been hacked up. Getting hard to find the Hornet coupes. This one has the rare factory race options. Rear seat frame out the back window. Air flow will cause downward pressure on the rear axle. Helping in the straightaway. Fender skirts out the quarter window helps in cornering at high speeds.🤔 it is a good solid car. Looks like crap. Will post pictures of cleaning out the inside. Something was living in there? It looks a little different now. Drive back was fun. I will post a picture of a 1,100 dollar water pump.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

After changing out the wheels that I brought with me. And strapping down the hood and engine. Engine was just sitting in there. Car was loaded and I hit the road. By now it is pushing 2 pm by the time I get back to Branson. And I was hit with the storms rolling through Oklahoma. Made a choice to stay at same hotel. Raining so hard traffic slowed to 35 on the freeway. Windshield wipers on high, and you could still not see well.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Branson to Kearney Nebraska, 8+ hours 530 miles. Kearney is where the LaFrance fire truck was that I posted pictures of.

[21sp6]

Maine to Utah. It was a parts car 

[Swear57]

My longest one was from Pendleton OR to China Lakes CA 1,480 miles one way. We left early in the morning and had the 1925 Buick loaded by 11 pm. We got about 4 hours sleep & off again we went. I can't remember the name of the town we stop to get gas, they said to take this short cut to get back on the freeway. The day before we saw a motor home on fire. This time we got out of town about 7 miles & saw a big cloud of black smoke I thought another motor home. When we got there, we were the third car on the scene. A Am Track train hit a semi-truck. There was nothing left of the semi other than the rear end that was broke into. The people in the cars were still sitting in their cars not wanting to get out. I told my son we need to go check the train out. We started down the tracks, people had started to come off the train they said not to go down there. We could hear sirens coming in the distance and took their advice. That day we saw 3 other wrecks before we got home safely. Second one my wife came home from the grocery store & said she bought a camp trailer of course I did not believe her. I had to go with to the store to get it. We got there these people were unloading all their clothes out of the trailer, they left everything else. These people were from Seattle WA. My wife paid them & they gave her the title. That was a strange deal. My shortest was 40 feet I bought a 1913 K.I.R.T from the neighbor. I tried to buy that car at auction 10 years earlier. 

[Xander Wildeisen]

Kearney Nebraska to Rock Springs Wyoming. 8+ hours, 570 miles. Last night on the trip, will be back the next day.😂

[Xander Wildeisen]

Rock Springs Wyoming to Boise. In this picture you will see a green marker on the side of the road. And a sign farther ahead. That is where I was pulled over and broke down. That is about 17 miles into Idaho. I know this from the tow bill. Driving along and the steering got very firm. Lights on the dash started flashing. Loosing your steering system, charging system and cooling system, will bring you to a stop. Engine was in the red and over flow tank was steaming. Thought the belt broke. Phone calls to tow company. More looking showed a pulley end broke off. Now more work then just a belt. Two tow trucks on the way. Getting towed back into Utah. Phone calls to hotel, auto parts stores. Lining everything up while I sit on the side of the freeway. Thought it was the tension pulley. Turned out to be the water pump. The shaft sheared off. Never seen that before. Towed to the hotel, walked into town with broken belt and chunk of water pump. Two auto parts stores in order to get what is needed. About 100 degrees out side. Full sun, about 3 miles of walking. Carrying two plastic bags, two gallons of coolant and a bucket. Good times. Throw the parts in the truck, fix it in the morning. It is dark at 5 in the morning in a dirt parking lot next to a hotel. With light from my cell phone, did a water pump replacement and belt. Add up tow bill, hotel and parts. And that was around a $1,500-1,600 hundred dollar water pump. But, I have a 52 Hornet, all is good. Back on the road.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Back on the road, last day of driving. Unload the car and get it in the shop. Glad driving is over, then I remembered the engine and transmission that I purchased in Montana before leaving to pick up this car.

[Marty Roth]

On 9/24/2022 at 8:39 AM, Xander Wildeisen said:

Rock Springs Wyoming to Boise. In this picture you will see a green marker on the side of the road. And a sign farther ahead. That is where I was pulled over and broke down. That is about 17 miles into Idaho. I know this from the tow bill. Driving along and the steering got very firm. Lights on the dash started flashing. Loosing your steering system, charging system and cooling system, will bring you to a stop. Engine was in the red and over flow tank was steaming. Thought the belt broke. Phone calls to tow company. More looking showed a pulley end broke off. Now more work then just a belt. Two tow trucks on the way. Getting towed back into Utah. Phone calls to hotel, auto parts stores. Lining everything up while I sit on the side of the freeway. Thought it was the tension pulley. Turned out to be the water pump. The shaft sheared off. Never seen that before. Towed to the hotel, walked into town with broken belt and chunk of water pump.  

Sorry to see that,

And --- a bit off topic , but ---

 

There MUST be something about that part of Interstate 80 !

 

A few years back, headed to Twin Falls, Idaho for the VMCCA Glidden Tour - driving our 2000 Ford Excursion and pulling our '41 Cadillac convertible in the enclosed trailer-

West of our overnight stop in Rawlins, WY, and maybe 80 miles east of Rock Springs,

all of a sudden we lost power and were enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke --  thought we were on fire until I saw that smoke was only from the tailpipe.

The thought was that the 7.3 Litre Diesel was blown with barely careful 365,xxx miles on it, and only the most recent 130,xxx miles towing.

I was barely able to maintain 5 - 10 mph on the shoulder of I-80 with a mile to the next exit which also had a Flying-J. The guys from the Flying-J repair shop rushed out , telling me I was on fire - NOT !! Then they told me they don't work on "small" diesels, but there was a little shop across the interstate.

The shop closes at noon on Saturdays, and it was past 11:30 AM.

Also, the owner said he had more than 2 weeks work already backed up, but being a AAA provider, he could tow my truck and trailer wherever I decided the following Monday. Per his three suggestions, and the others being private shops with no warranty near my home in Louisiana, we agreed on the Ford dealer in Rock Springs. We all agreed that the real issue was the Turbocharger.

 

We backed the '41 Caddy out of the trailer, transferred our luggage, tools, and spare parts, left the rig with the shop, and headed 500+ miles west, arriving at Twin Falls, Idaho just as night fell. I felt bad, pushing the unrestored 1941 Caddy at interstate highway speeds for 500 miles, especially since we were still on older bias-ply tires - but the alternative was to be on a dark interstate after sunset with tiny 6-Volt tail lights when the big rigs would be coming up behind us at 85+ mph. The Ford dealer in Rock springs ordered and installed  the new Turbo so after driving the Caddy another almost 1,000 miles on tour, we drove the 500 miles back the following Saturday, loaded up the trailer to the truck, and the Caddy into the trailer. Only then did we discover that the "new" turbo was apparently defective, and that we couldn't make better than 50-55 mph on the flat. Climbing I-80 eastward into Cheyenne we couldn't get better than 10 mph !!!

 

Arriving home several frustrating days later, the Excursion went to a local Ford Dealership for a proper replacement under Ford Warranty, along with another $2,xxx for a bunch of other parts which should have been changed by the dealership in Wyoming.

 

Couldn't have been my truck's fault --  must be that part of the highway  ---   right ?

Edited September 25, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Xander Wildeisen]

It is a void in the vortex, a gap in the matrix. Where fry sauce is not allowed, and tin foil hats work. 

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

Car in shop, a person can now see what they bought. It is a solid car, seller used a tractor to lift the car. So I did get a good look at all of the problem areas on these cars. One rust through above the passenger rear skirt (common) drivers door bottom has a spot on it. Both lower door hinges are broken. And a spot on the floor will need replacement. No doubt sand blasting will show pitted areas. Floor sections are very easy to replace in these. The sedan parts car will provide everything that is needed. Time to clean this thing out. That loved new car smell comes in different scents.😛

[Xander Wildeisen]

[Xander Wildeisen]

Pop out busted windshields, replace with used ones. Bought a original back window still in the box before I took off on the trip. Wheels from the parts car were dropped off at the powder coating before I left. Install exterior sun visor. Only thing that did not work out was new replacement side glass was ordered. Should have been delivered while I was gone. Company was to backed up to complete my order. So just canceled the order for now. Off to Montana in the morning.

[Porsche 68]

Xander that is a great car! Hope you post pictures of the progress John

[Xander Wildeisen]

There is more to show. But progress stops because I am in a different state from where the car is. Things might change when a story comes out. Nice story NBC did on Moscow Idaho. You are just scratching the surface of the targeting of people and businesses in that state NBC.

[JACK M]

4 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

4 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

Nice story NBC did on Moscow Idaho.

Don't suppose there is a link.

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

2 hours ago, JACK M said:

 

Not wanting to get in trouble posting things. Search YouTube Moscow Idaho NBC. About 30 minutes long. About the division going on in Idaho. And peoples desire to create this or that type of community. The targeting of people in Idaho is very real. Hope all this stuff comes out.

[Xander Wildeisen]

Time to grab the engine and transmission purchased off of Craigslist at the start of this trip. It was also advertised in the WTN, they were to late to pull the add. I saw it in the new issue, seller said people have called on it. Boise to Stevensville Montana. 7 hours, 360 miles. This drive is all up hill and follows the river. Whole area was filled with smoke from fires. And the Porsche car club must of had a rally/tour going on. You can do a big loop up through the Stanley basin coming up from the Sun Valley area. Nice drive in a sports car. Lots of 911’s driving around. This is the car the engine came out of. Owner replaced it with a V8 and overdrive transmission. Nice 53 Hornet sedan.

[ted sweet]

albany ny to  davenport  florida

[edinmass]

How far have I traveled to purchase a car? I’m certain over fifty years I have covered well over half a million miles chasing cars and parts. Purchased cars from three different continents. One road trip around North America we did 8,700 miles over a month. That was a total of four cars and several truckloads of parts. I’m way too old to do it now.

[Peter Gariepy]

I didn't travel, but I did buy a a 1948 Chrysler Town and Country convertible (in very good condition) that was 3000 miles away, without seeing it in person.  I did however get help from an AACA member in the area Mike Jones, who when he saw the car said "if you dont buy it I will".  So, yes. I bought it.

 

 

[SC38dls]

Ed, if you think you’re too old to travel far for a car, one heck of a lot of us are waaaay too ancient to do it! 
dave s 

[Xander Wildeisen]

Engine loaded up, grab a hotel and drive back the next morning. 

[Xander Wildeisen]

Who ever fixed up this car before removed all of the rear tail lights. And filled the mounting holes with body filler. You can see this as the white spots on the car body. They did this right over the original paint. Filling tail lights and front fender ornaments/spears. Original color was Texas Tan on the body and the top. Car was sprayed in this blueish green color, and top was sprayed in a white or cream color. The square holes in back were cut out to install 49-51 tail lights. Someone must have liked those tail lights better then the 52 set up. Or they did not want to spend the money on chrome plating. What looks like rust under the paint is the original color showing through. Glad they did not weld up all the holes, makes it easy to reinstall the correct tail lights. Trunk rocket emblem is wrong, that is from the parts car, a Commodore 8. Do not have the Hornet rocket yet. Will fill cut in tail light holes on the next trip. Running out of time on this trip. Put some paint cleaner on the hood. You can see the original paint under the black primer and blue paint. Texas Tan was the color of my first Hudson, a 52 Wasp sedan.

[Xander Wildeisen]

All ready looks better. With very little effort. I have lost the ability to transport a seat frame out the back window.😩

[vintagerodshop]

From Vancouver BC to London England.

I purchased a 1934 Mercedes 290, a 1931 Mercedes 370K and a 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagon.

[Porsche 68]

Hey Xander is that your car or a customers That is a great looking car always liked 50s Hudson’s would like to see a build thread on this ! Amazing what a little cleaning and a set of wide whites can do.  John

[Xander Wildeisen]

The Hudson is my car, I do not have a customer base. My customers, during the time my business operated in Star Idaho. Are all, on some level involved in this looming story in Idaho. If you have followed my comments over the years on this forum. Then you have an idea about what is going on. If you are not aware of what has been said, hopefully you will see a story come out. A lot of questions need to be answered, and most likely those answers will come from Federal Law Enforcement. I may be wrong on some of my conclusions, at some point you have to fill in the blanks with what makes sense. It is a very manipulated issue, in my opinion. manipulated for the purpose of entrapment. I am confident in the statements that I have made. I am sure we are all going to find out, as the City of Star moves forward.  

 

[TAKerry]

Like following your travels Xander, and a great looking car. Your breakdown reminded me of an experience I had picking up a car. Guy from another website had an Anniversary Trans Am for sale for quite awhile. Got to a point that he was ready to send it to the crusher. It was only a rolling shell but completely rust free, not often seen in these cars! I was about 2hrs or so away and struck a deal with him. Left around 8am on a Sat morning figured I would be home for lunch. He had the car in a storage unit complex. I got it loaded on my trailer and my F150 crapped out. Engine turned but no gas (found out later the fuel pump went kaput). I called a guy I knew in the towing business but he was a couple of hours out. The storage yard closed at noon so I had to call a local tow truck to tow me out of the gate before they locked for the weekend. Waited several hours for 'my guy' to show up. Put my truck on the rollback, hooked up my trailer. It was almost 6 pm by the time I got home. NOT a good day. To top things off, my wife made fettucini for dinner, my first bite I broke my tooth in half!! ON SOFT NOODLES!! 

A couple of years went by and I started working on that particular car. An errant spark from the grinder burnt down the shop and I lost the car. I think it was cursed!!

[Xander Wildeisen]

You want a cursed car story, here is the car.  https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19515/lot/128/      I get a call from Dale, he owns a body and paint shop in Garden City. He has a car that he would like me to take a look at. I drive over there, and this is the car he has sitting in his shop. The owner got in an accident lining up for a cruse. Missed the brake pedal and hit the gas. Smashed the back of an all steel 34 Ford coupe, and pushed it into a 56 Chevrolet? Dale was wanting me to fix the front end so he could repaint the front end. He starts to tell me about when the car was brought to him by the flat bed wrecker. Car is being unloaded, dale is turning the wheel. And the car rolls over his foot, when the car is off the truck. There is blood on the bed of the tow truck, Dale asks where the blood came from. Driver said he had to pick up the truck that was involved in a chase on I84, where the driver decapitated someone, and threw the head in the back of the truck. After that he picked up this car. By now I am thinking that this is a bad mojo car. Was also told that when this car was first finished, it was pulled out of the custom car shop. And side swiped down the drivers side by a truck passing by. And went right back in the shop to be fixed. Told dale I will fix it, but I am not driving it. He brought it out, pulled it in the shop and I got started on it. Tried to save as much of the original custom work as possible. Diving into the front end, it had been wrecked before. Someone filled voids with expandable foam. This stuff catches on fire when welding, had to redo the entire grill opening and the grill. When cutting out the old sheet metal, it had numbering on it, the kind you see on old military crates, and the round leading edges that form the front looked to be pipe/tubing from an old swing set. Who knows how many times that car has been worked on. The guy who did the stripping Glen painted the door that was in my shop. He does the art work on the old war planes, that are restored out in Nampa. Great artist. And that is my old neighbor Bill in front of the door. Guessing he still lives out there. He knows this story, he should be able to say something if he wants to.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Xander Wildeisen (see edit history)