First Drive - Cross Canada Road Trip (3 Viewers)

[JHeffner]

Day 2 continued...

Somehow on the prairies I made it up to a whopping 97.8km/hr (60.83mph). I'm still not sure how I got the old girl up to that speed.

My odometer didn't work so I used this app mostly to track how many KM's I was doing a day. Even though my speedo was in mph I knew I was in no danger whatsoever of being pulled over by the cops for speeding.

I rolled into Brandon Manitoba late.

I smelled like a mixture of exhaust/gasoline/manure/beef jerky/coffee. It was raining pretty hard and I was in no mood to pop a tent. I pointed the 40 at the nearest hotel I could see and drove over. When I stopped the truck I could tell I was in a bit of a daze. I could also really smell gasoline now. I walked around to the passenger side of the truck to see if I could see any gas dripping from the fuel pump. It was raining too hard to really tell but I thought I could see rainbows in the puddles under the truck, usually a good sign of a fuel leak. Or was I just that high from the fumes? Too tired to find out...

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that the spring on one of my hood latches decided to s*** the bed on day 1 of the trip. I managed to work out a "4 zip-tie system" to keep the hood latch tight. It only managed to come loose at highway speeds a couple times which scared the crap out of me.

Dramatic reenactment of my sweet zip tie setup. I was too embarrassed to take a picture of it while it was on the 40. I took this when I got new latches in the spring...

I was too high and exhausted to get my knife out and deal with the zip tie to open the hood let alone work on it in the pissing rain.

I went and checked into the hotel, ordered a pizza and I passed out.

 

[JHeffner]

Morning of day 3 - 35km (22 miles)


After a horrible sleep I woke up with a pounding headache. I ate a few slices of cold pizza and got some coffee. I went outside, fired up the 40 and walked out to the passenger side. It was clear then why I felt like crap, eyes burned and my clothes stunk like gasoline. Gas was now pouring out of the old mechanical fuel pump. I turned the truck off and started on the google...

I drove to the nearest part shop. I knew it was going to be a long shot if they would have a mechanical fuel pump. Sure enough they didn't.

Now I will state here I knew I needed an inline electrical fuel pump but my electrical skills are horrible. The only thing I know about electricity is that it runs on smoke. Cause once you let the smoke out, it doesn't work anymore. I know my limitations and a fuel pump install was way out of my wheel house.

So I sat out in the rain and called a half dozen repair shops explaining that I needed a electrical fuel pump installed ASAP as I was driving across Canada. None of them had time to fit me in that day. Then I tried "Torys Repair", I explained my plight with him. I told him the parts shop I was at and he told me exactly what to buy.

I jumped in the 40 with the parts and risked being burnt alive on the 20 minute drive to Tory's shop. (good thing the manifold is on the other side of the truck )

The road trip gods smiled upon me!!! Tory was an absolute beauty (in Canada "beauty" means "really cool dude")!

It looked like his team was working on a engine swap on a late model dodge pickup in the other bay. He got them to clean up what they were doing and freed up two mechanics to come over and start on my truck. Everyone came over to have a look at the 40, asking all sorts of questions about it and my trip so far. His team was obviously used to working on newer vehicles, they all marveled at how simple the 40 was. "They don't build them like this anymore!!" Tory said one of his good buddies owned the Toyota Dealership in town, he asked if he could take a few pictures and send them off to his friend. Not a problem at all. Take all the pictures you want. Next thing you know everyone had their phones out snapping pictures. I felt like Brad Pitt standing next to Angelina Jolie (the 40) on the red carpet...

Then Tory took me for a tour of his shop

He had a sweet 1970 Plymouth GTX with a 493 stroker in it complete with an air grabber hood (first one I ever saw.) It made 600HP and he had the 1/4 mile slips on the work bench to prove it(he had just gotten back from the track the weekend before). He fired up the car for me, oh my god did it sound rank!! I never asked him if I could take it for a spin.

Remember my old square body Chevy I had before the 40? Well Tory had one too. He said he used to mud bog it, but really didn't drive it much anymore. It was a clean looking truck though for a mud bogger.

By this time the owner of the Toyota dealership made it to the shop. His name was Rick. Rick was so excited to see the 40 and hear a bit about the story and what I was doing. He couldn't believe it and was asking me a million questions. He took a 100 different picture and was just smiling from ear to ear. He was a nice dude. Tory invited me and Rick over to a dinner next door for lunch. We all had a club sandwich and a chocolate milk and had a good bull**** about a number of different topics. Tory paid the tab even under harsh protest by me. He did just basically save me a day at least on the road. He insisted and we headed back to his shop where my truck was ready to go.

They installed a switch under the dash to turn the fuel pump on and off. Tory said he did the same thing on his Plymouth and it was a good theft deterrent. I thought it was a great idea mostly because I love switches. I don't think there are many people that could figure out how to start my 40 let alone drive away with it.

I settled the tab with Tory, $120 for parts and labour… I shook his hand and thanked him and his crew for helping out a guy. He gave me his card and told me to shoot him a note when I made it to NL. He wanted to make sure I made it back safe and sound. What a beauty!!!

 

[JHeffner]

Afternoon of day 3 - 1348km (838 miles)

I left Tory's Repair a little after noon. As happy as I was that I got to meet Rick, Tory and his crew I now thought I was behind schedule (I wasn't, just high still I'm guessing) and now I had broken down so my ears were back on the engine and my eyes were back on the temp gauge. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL CHEESY VIAGRA COMERCIALS!!!

Worst "Welcome To..." sign in Canada goes to Ontario.

The heavens opened up in Ontario and it started to rain really, really hard.
- wiper blades would now not operate in 1st gear, only 2nd and even then they weren't keeping up.
- water was coming into the cab from most places; front door seals, ambi-door seals, front roof cap, firewall, vents, etc.
- my lower half was soaked
- water was pooling under my right foot (skinny peddle operator)
- my right knee was on fire.
- wasn't sure if I could see better with the wipers turned off or on. I experimented with this often.
- the heater worked!!! It worked well!!

Note - By this time I had figured out a way to slide my butt up the back of the seat and duck my head down just enough so I could see the road. I could then hold my weight with my left foot and stretch out both my legs while I feathered the gas peddle with my right. I could hold this position for about 5-10 minutes which bought me about another 2 hours driving time before I had to get out of the 40 and walk around. I used this technique mostly to get me from one gas station to the next. Absolute menace to everyone on the road...

The rain was so bad at one point that people were starting to pull over on the side of the road. I tried to maintain but shortly I did the same, safely pulled over and waited for the rain to calm down. Her I found out my hazard lights worked too, score!! I ate some beef jerky and some more peanut M&M's.

After about 30 min the rain let enough to get back on the road safely. another couple 100km's down the road is where I had one of the worst scares of my life. I went into a fairly large dip in the road doing about 80km/hr when I got the opportunity to try hydroplaning in a FJ40. This is not something I would ever like to do again. It took ever ounce of nerve not to try and correct my course as I was gliding toward a steep embankment. If I would have I probably would have rolled that baby 100 times. I think it took a good 2 hours before my heart rate returned to normal. Lets just say if there was coal in my butt I would have had a real nice diamond!!

This was also the first opportunity I had to drive the 40 in the dark. Here I got to marvel at the sheer lack of lumens my lights were emitting. I managed to find the center line using the lights of the oncoming traffic. I had to get off the road in a hurry in beautiful Wawa at the HWY 17 Motel

No I swear on my life I'm not making this up. I walk towards the door to the entrance and I can faintly hear yelling that gets louder and louder as I get to the door. I open the door and from what I can tell, the owners of this fine establishment are having a full on domestic dispute. I cautiously walk up to the window and there is a sort of a living space behind the window. The door opening triggered a buzzer. The owner makes eye contact with me then goes strait back to yelling with his wife in a foreign (to me) language. I patiently wait for them to finish, no way I'm getting back on the road. Google Wawa, Ontario it's in the middle of nowhere. Buddy finally finishes up come over to great me with a big smile like nothing happened and gives me the penthouse sweet for my troubles (this is a joke...).

Old Maxwell House coffee can for your cigarette butts and every veranda had a different chair out front. Truly a magical place.

I wonder how many people have been murdered in here.

I had a bottle of whiskey with me I bought for emergencies on day 1, this was an emergency. No way was I using one of the hotel supplied glasses so grabbed my knife and made my own out of a water bottle.

I tried not to touch anything, watched some sports center and drank till I could "sleep" on top of the covers. I kept my Gerber beside my bed that night.

 

[dbbowen]

The road trip gods smiled upon me!!! Tory was an absolute beauty (in Canada "beauty" means "really cool dude")!



Certified Beautician! Crazy weather woes, still makes for an amazing story!

 

[JHeffner]

Darn! The end of the thread... keep it comin'!

I'll try to get through it in the next couple days.

 

[JHeffner]

Forgot to mention that I swung into Thunder Bay Ontario on the way to Wawa. I friend of mine told me I needed to go to "The Persian Man" to try a Persian. Told me it would change my life. Not sure if they changed my life or not but when you are going to an industrial park to buy a donut you know it's going to be amazing.

Coffee top up and a box of Persians. from The Persian Man. Persians are fried cinnamon sweet rolls topped with pink berry-flavored icing. If you are ever in Thunder Bay you should check them out.

 

[JHeffner]

Day 4 - 1015km (630 miles)

I woke up a bit hung over but it didn't slow me down. I wanted to get out of Wawa as quickly as possible and back on the road. Filled up with gas and coffee, topped off the oil and I was off like a bat out of hell.

This was a nice stretch of road to travel on. Spent a good portion of time following Lake Superior which really was mind boggling big. People told me to watch out for the rolling hills in Ontario but they didn't bother the 40 at all. Didn't even have to get into 3rd gear at all. The old girl was running like a champ.

One thing I did find a bit odd here was that it was illegal to fill up your own vehicle with gas. All gas stations were full serve. This didn't work in my favor as somewhere along this trip one of the attendants lost my fuel cap. (I still have not been able to find one that fits my truck. If anyone thinks they know where I can find one I'm all ears. Can send picture of opening) also I would tell the attendants that they had to listen to the tank to know when to stop pumping fuel, they would tell me they understood and then I would come back and see gas all over the ground. This sucked cause it would take a while of driving before the smell would go away.

Also it was raining again, not near as hard but I knew my wiper motor was going to stop at any moment. I was also getting tired of stabbing my knife into my fender cutting the zip ties off my hood latch. I wanted to buy some Rain X to see if that would help on the windshield and I also wanted to buy some side cutters. Going forward the side cutter worked much more efficiently then the knife for opening my hood. The Rain X, worked amazingly well. For the rest of the trip I never had to turn my windshield wipers on again. Just rainex in the morning and drive. So awesome.

I knew I wanted to make it to Ottawa that day and I also knew I wanted to stay somewhere really nice. So I pulled over and booked a night at a nice Hilton. I love Hilton beds. I love them so much I bought a mattress for my house along with their pillows. You can buy them right from Hilton, check it out if you are into it.

No pictures on this stretch, just bangin gears and making miles. Checked into the Hilton had a hot shower followed by a long soak in the hut tub and passed out cold.

 

[JHeffner]

Day 5 - 530km (330 miles)

I didn't set an alarm that night and I woke up at around 10:00 feeling like a million bucks. Really needed a great sleep in a comfortable spot. I swear this thread is not sponsored by Hilton.

I walked out of the fancy Hilton opened my door to see this well appointed cockpit I had just spent the last 4 days in. Couldn't help but laugh. I hopped back in and went to a pharmacy to pick up some Voltaren for my knee. It was not happy at all with me. The voltaren seemed to help a bit with the rest of the trip.

the past 2 days I guess the breakdown in Manitoba had scared me a bit so I had put on over 2000km's (1250 miles) in 2 days to make sure I made it back in time. Looking at the map I Wasn't far from NS so their was no way I was doing another high miler again today.

So I went to a local brewery that day and had a bit of a tour. Drank one beer and bought a 6 pack for later on that night.

I made it to Quebec. Almost missed this sign, had to back track for my poser pic.

Driving through Montreal was nerve wracking. Bumper to bumper traffic in a city in a 40 is not cool. The 2F was not happy and neither was my knee. I was also way to nervous to do my modified driving position to stretch my legs while driving. Too many eyes looking at me.

Still though lots of smiles and waves and heads cranked into the back windows to try and have a look at this good looking truck.

Finally got out of traffic, avoided going through Quebec City and before I knew it I was following beside the Mighty St. Lawrence River. I made it to L'Iset, Quebec a cool old town right on the side of the river that seemed to have a nautical background. The weather had improved tremendously so I thought this is a night I could spend in my tent. Shut er down today at around 16:00. Nice!!

I found a nice little spot off of the river and set up my tent, cooked myself up some dinner on the stove top and even hiked down to get my line wet. Didn't catch a damn thing but I really didn't care.

Laid down to get ready for a nice sleep when the rain started. Followed by thunder and lightning. Was the best night I had so far!!

 

[Littl42]

Wow what a great story. Keep it going.

 

[JHeffner]

Day 6 - 490km (305 miles)

Woke up packed up camp and hit the road again. Felt great, truck was running great and it appeared the rain had finally left me. Road wasn't busy at all and I was making good time in my modified driving position. My plan was to go to PEI tonight and spend the night on a beach near Summerside.

50 miles down the road from this picture the s*** hit the fan.

I stopped at some truck stop and got some coffee. When I got back out it looked like there was some oil under the truck. The truck had been running so well I figured for sure this was just from some other car. No way this top was squirting any oil. I jumped in flashed it up and was getting to grab a gear on the on ramp to get back on the road when my foot almost went right through the floor. Clutch was gone... You have got to be s***ting me. I was in a bit of a turd of a spot being on the onramp but I put it in neutral rolled down the hill so I could get myself to turn around and go the wrong way down the hill. Managed to get it into first gear and limped it back to the gas station parking lot.

I jumped out to have a look and I saw oil leaking from somewhere. I couldn't quite tell where it was coming from and was feeling around. Then I grabbed the linkage on the clutch and got a face full of brake fluid through the dust hole on the bellows. Slave cylinder is toast. Better then the clutch itself I guess. I went into the gas station, bought some new brake fluid, filled the reservoir to the top. That gave me enough clutch to get on the road. I had about another 100km's till I got to the next significant town of Fredericton, NB. While I was on the road I searched for a cheap motel, put it in the GPS and then shifted on revs till I got to the parking lot. Couldn't get it into the parking spot. I through it in neutral, jumped out and pushed it into the parking spot.

It was a Sunday and the only parts shop in town that was open was a Canadian Tire. I called and asked them for a slave cylinder. "Sorry sir we don't see that in our system" To be clear I once walked into a Canadian Tire parts desk and asked them for a rebuild kit for a carburetor and the guy said back to me, "What's a carburetor?!?"

I knew even getting the slave cylinder was going to be a long shot even from Napa auto parts when it opened tomorrow.

I knew the old one would have to come out regardless so I went and pulled it out.

I then went to Canadian tire and bought some emery cloth, mechanics paper towel and some WD-40 to see what I could see. It was clear that the rubber on the piston was gone. Lots of junk in the cylinder as well. Amazing it lasted this long really I thought to myself.

You can see I had my ipad on me so I googled FJ40 clutch slave cylinder rebuild. Wouldn't you know it the Mud forum pops up. So I find a thread that say that the piston in a 90's T100 Toyota pickup truck slave is the same as a FJ40. Now I like the sound of that. Great news, I finish cleaning up the cylinder and the rod, pour myself a beer and hit the sack

 

[Rooster47]

Really enjoying this story from your trip! Super cool!

Just wanted to mention that at first when I read Canadian Tire, I was picturing a tire store. Then when you said you went back and bought some emory cloth and other items it seemed weird... Until I remembered that I'd been to a Canadian Tire and that it wasn't a tire store!!! If I recall, they had everything from hockey gear to well, just about anything.
(thought some others who haven't made it that far North might benefit from the clarification)

 

[Yellowknifer]

Great story! FYI... if you ever have to go through Montreal again there is a new toll highway (30) that by-passes most of the heavy traffic. I did the cross Canada thing with my BJ42 and I feel your knee pain.

 

[JHeffner]

Really enjoying this story from your trip! Super cool!

Just wanted to mention that at first when I read Canadian Tire, I was picturing a tire store. Then when you said you went back and bought some emory cloth and other items it seemed weird... Until I remembered that I'd been to a Canadian Tire and that it wasn't a tire store!!! If I recall, they had everything from hockey gear to well, just about anything.
(thought some others who haven't made it that far North might benefit from the clarification)

You are correct. I guess it is sort of like a Walmart mixed with a home depot, mixed with a Napa, except no food and limited clothing (hunting only as far as I know). Automotive, sporting goods, kitchen gadgets, lighting, etc. A lot of stuff they carry is on the cheaper end. I usually call it "Ukrainian Tire" but if I said that on here then hardly anyone would know what I was talking about.

 

[JHeffner]

Great story! FYI... if you ever have to go through Montreal again there is a new toll highway (30) that by-passes most of the heavy traffic. I did the cross Canada thing with my BJ42 and I feel your knee pain.

Thanks for the heads up but I will never be driving across Canada in a 40 ever again. Once is enough. If I do drive across Canada it will be in a big fluffy sedan or a giant motorhome.

 

[pigmony]

I get some knee pain on long drives if the seat is too close to the pedals. I'm 5'10" (1.8 meters) tall and run the seat in my 40 all the way back, but I'd like it to be 2-3 inches farther back.

 

[JHeffner]

I get some knee pain on long drives if the seat is too close to the pedals. I'm 5'10" (1.8 meters) tall and run the seat in my 40 all the way back, but I'd like it to be 2-3 inches farther back.

I’m with you 100%!! I have my seats back as far as they will go. I’m 6’ tall. One day I’ll put some aftermarket seats in maybe. The wife says she wants new seats too so this will help my cause.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Great thread!! Great story!! Great family!! Great fish!!

I’m confused by one reference in your ‘73 Chevy SWB story... you said,

“I loved this truck!! I did a lot of work to it including swapping the engine for a 383 stroker that was just magical. I could light up those 36" super swampers like nothing.

I used it to induce pregnancy for my wife when she was pregnant with my son.”

Caveat... I’m 70... perhaps I don’t recall how a pregnancy begins...

Are you saying y’all conceived your son in that Chevy? If so, it must have killed your knee...

Or did you use the Chevy to induce labor?

Perhaps visual aids would help...

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Honger]

Seriously great thread...
Too bad you can't make as much money driving your 40 and writing tales as you do working in drilling... cause man I could read this stuff all day.

 

[samatulich]

There is a seat bracket modification you can do to your 40. It will give you another couple inches or a few centimeters of leg room. You’ll have to search the forum, it is well worth it. Thanks for sharing, been enjoying the story.

 

[1MOA]

Great story, keep on truckin.