- Joined
- Dec 20, 2007
- Threads
- 127
- Messages
- 1,070
- Location
- Orcas Island in NW Washington State
- Website
- www.mtpickettwoodworking.com
I think it was 1993 we drove our '79 from our home on Orcas Island to Disneyland, across to Death Valley, Jerome AZ, The Grand Canyon and Points further South. We had 3 kids in the back seat and towed our 1966 Aloha 15' travel trailer with a month's worth of food and supplies stored on board. That was before old trailers were 'vintage', they were just old. We packed a 50 lb sack of oatmeal for breakfasts, made sandwiches for lunch and had home (trailer) cooked dinners, usually at a campsite. No motels, and one meal out the whole month..... A Wendy's.
With 16" splits from a Canadian junkyard (I tapped the wheels 10-24 for hubcap clips), We were geared pretty tall with the '79's factory 3.73 axle ratios. It was a pretty slow pull up the mountain passes, but we knew that and we had a month. More surprising to me was the affect of headwinds in the high desert. Completely level and we'd get up to about 40 and shift into high, but it was like a long grade. Before long we'd need to downshift to third and wind it out again.... and repeat. The kids trick or treated at a big RV campground in Death Valley on Halloween. From the sale of a worn out farmall tractor I had six hundred bucks cash under the floor mat for gas and there was about 60 left upon our return. We did just short of 3300 miles and only repair was replacing the fuel filter once at Tulelake Ca.
Sadly this is the 55 I cut up and built the 'ford' jalopy on. All the mechanicals live on to this day and have 195,000 miles on 'em. The body was no candidate for any kind of restoration, but the 2F and drivetrain are ready to go again. This time with motels and an upgrade to Red Lobster.
With 16" splits from a Canadian junkyard (I tapped the wheels 10-24 for hubcap clips), We were geared pretty tall with the '79's factory 3.73 axle ratios. It was a pretty slow pull up the mountain passes, but we knew that and we had a month. More surprising to me was the affect of headwinds in the high desert. Completely level and we'd get up to about 40 and shift into high, but it was like a long grade. Before long we'd need to downshift to third and wind it out again.... and repeat. The kids trick or treated at a big RV campground in Death Valley on Halloween. From the sale of a worn out farmall tractor I had six hundred bucks cash under the floor mat for gas and there was about 60 left upon our return. We did just short of 3300 miles and only repair was replacing the fuel filter once at Tulelake Ca.
Sadly this is the 55 I cut up and built the 'ford' jalopy on. All the mechanicals live on to this day and have 195,000 miles on 'em. The body was no candidate for any kind of restoration, but the 2F and drivetrain are ready to go again. This time with motels and an upgrade to Red Lobster.
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