Pike's Peak

[Old Henry]

Hey, I'm thinking of climbing Pike's Peak in my '47 Sedan and wonder who else has done it and can share their experience. How 'bout it? Any stories to swap?

[Barry WNY]

I worked at the ski area construction and went as high as Glenn Cove. My 2 cycle motorcycle would barely make it, and wouldn't start to go home. Had to coast start it and it didn't really "run" , or have to,until I got down to the resivoir. VW's often would give up and end up in the ski area parking lot to get turned around. You could stop and adjust part way up for performance higher up but have to correct on the way down. If you aren't used to it get out and take a short hike and easy to see why the car gets tired. I liked it there, would have stayed but couldn't buy a construction job in the s'prings, so I went home.
Car companies tested there, taping and disguising no-name flat black bodies, running up and down with what I imagine a bunch of on-board data recorders.

[flathead4rd]

See my post on the early Ford V-8 Club.
http://www.earlyfordv8.org/index.cfm

[keith oh]

I climbed it back in 1953 in my 1946 tudor while in the service. It was running very rough by the time we made it to the top. I can barely remember being with my father and family, in his 1936 4 door, the road was not very good but we made it. He was a Ford dealer at the time so made some carburetor alterations, in fact he told me later that he carried 2 carburetors, one altered for the climb but I don't remember what they were.

[ajohn]

In 1972,I climbed Pike's Peak with my 69 GTO Judge.It was a Ram Air IV and nearly ran off the top.No need for a altitude tune up for it! James

[Mart]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

It would be nice if your car can hold low gears on the overrun. If you can come down in 2nd it will be a lot easier on your brakes. If you are having to hold the gearstick in 2nd and turn the steering wheel it can be a bit of a handfull.

Mart.

[johnny]

I just did it last week, but in a rented Ford Edge ,Your old ford should not have any problem ,the road is very good ,But there are no gard rails .Going up is scary comming down you need your brakes but with your old ford you can keep it in low to slow you down .We flew to Denver did the peak and then drove to St George Utah to the V8 meet and then back to Denver and then Home ,had a great time.John.

[Tinker]

A friend and I did it in the 90s with an old chevy wagon!!! ha ha...

Going up I think would be fine in an old ford but coming down, like any mountain driving, would taxi the brakes some, or the transmission. The road is good all the way up (last bit was gravel when I did it. Plenty of switchbacks.

Sounds like a good time!

[40 Deluxe]

A shop manual I have gives main jet recommendation for the holley 94: stock is .050"; 5,000 to 10,000 ft. is .048" and over 10,000 is .046". Just change jets as you go up! Seriously, I would think a set of the external adjustable needle jets would be the way to go-just stop and tweek on the way up/down. Some years ago we were up there with my daughter's '86 Nova/Corolla and it would not start for the trip down. A guy came over and said to stop running the battery down; it won't start! He had a can of starting fluid and sprayed it in the air intake and the car started. Seems it was his job to walk around and help start all the vapor-locked cars. Don't know if the gas is any better now or not. Probably not!

[40 Deluxe]

Forgot to mention that this Nova/Toyota had the fuel pump mounted high on the engine, just like a flathead so was also more susceptible to vapor-lock when hot and at high altitude.

[Old Henry]

So far, from the suggestions here and on the Early Ford V8 site I'll be taking a can of starting fluid, a 10 lb. radiator pressure cap, warm clothes, camera and video equipment, advancing my timing as I go up, and maybe get those adjustable jets to fool with on the way up.

Thanks for all of your stories and suggestions.

I can't wait to go.

Oh, and I think we'll include Mt. Evans, THEE highest paved road on the continent, (only 150 feet above Pike's Peak) in our itenerary.


Still Old Henry

[olracer66]

I hope you are planning this event for next summer as the "rock" has snow on the top third. I can see it from my kitchen window. Good luck.
OlRacer66

[flathead4dr]

The good old model A would probably have no problems with its adjustable mixture control. Kind of like a piston airplane. Don't need nothin' fancy here....ha ha

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by olracer66

I hope you are planning this event for next summer as the "rock" has snow on the top third. I can see it from my kitchen window. Good luck.
OlRacer66

We'll be going next summer. Too late this year. One thing my old '47 sedan is NOT good in and that's SNOW.

Thanks for the eyewitness update.

[Old Henry]

Well, we did it. Left July 5th from home, Orem, Utah, and made it to the top of Pike's Peak two days later on July 7th. The trip was not without its challenges including two broken valve stems with no one in 100 miles having an inner tube, two removals of the carburetor to install increasingly smaller jets as we climbed, and, of course, plenty of vapor lock, dog gone it. Here are some photos:

Leaving from Orem


Tail Light Trouble. No big deal if that's all the trouble we had.


Flat tire. No big deal except that it couldn't be fixed cause the valve stem was broken. Spent two hours looking for a tube (driving on the spare) Didn't find one till next day 100 miles away.


After jacking up the car with it in gear (should work. Right? To keep the car from rolling?) while Morgan was pulling the spare out of the trunk, the car rolled back and tipped over the jack and went to the ground. "In Gear" doesn't work when one of the back wheels comes off the ground.


When the car rolled back and went to ground the trunk lid caught Morgan's torso and gouged it.


Overheated on long high climb up to high pass.


Ten pound radiator cap was supposed to keep it from boiling over. Well it did but the extra pressure caused water to start squirting out under hose clamps so we took the cap off to release the pressure. Replaced the 4 lb cap and never boiled over. Vapor lock got us first. That is much worse at higher altitudes as the fuel vaporizes at lower temperatures. Need electric fuel pump to "prime" the mechanical one when that happens.


Next town we died again and decided to put in smaller jets for higher altitude. It worked.


Looking down on Pike's Peak Road near the top. Gorgeous view from the top of the world.


Beautiful day. Clear skys. Temperature perfect.


Triple Duty. One place was so steep that to get going without rolling back took three feet.


Vapor Lock . . . AGAIN!


Cruisin' at high altitude.


1000 feet from the top. Had to put even smaller jets in to make it.


At the top next to one of two vintage sports cars that made the trip. Saw nothing else vintage that day.


Awkward vapor lock. Thought I'd take a quick picture in front of this monument where, it turned out, I wasn't supposed to be. Vapor locked and stuck there for way too long while park ranger yelled and threatened me. Thus, no smile in this photo.


Another flat tire. Glad we found a tube to fix the other one and bought an extra to have on hand. This was another broken valve stem.


Had to put larger jets back in once we got to lower altitude.


Vapor lock WITHIN SIGHT of the Eisenhower Tunnel! Another block and we'd been coasting down through the tunnel!


Had enough. Someone else got to drive. Headed home. Skipped Mt. Evans that was even higher. Tired of changing jets. Sleeping on the very same seat I slept on as a kid. Dad bought "Old Henry" for $100.00 when I was 7 years old. (St. Patrick's Day 1959)


LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Don't use higher pressure radiator cap. Stick with stock 4 lb. one.
2. Am installing electric fuel pump to overcome vapor lock.
3. Carry not only spare tire but spare tube as well.
4. Set brake AND block wheels when changing tire.
5. Takes twice as long as you think.
6. Take black marker to cross out "or" and write "and" for Pike's Peak AND Bust!
7. Absolutely worth all the effort!

ADDENDUM 9-14-13:

Just so that "The Rest of the Story" gets told, I'm adding this additional information about vapor lock and jet sizes that I've learned since:

Some may find this story entertaining about how I came to understand and believe in vapor lock.

It was on our Pike's Peak climb two years ago. Not knowing much about vapor lock but thinking I would have to change jet sizes as I climbed we left with several different sets of jets. As we climbed higher the engine quit. I, of course, thought the jets needed to be changed so, on the side of the road, we removed the carburetor and changed the jets. Of course, as soon as we got it all back together after 30 minutes, the engine started right up and took us higher until, again, the engine quit. Had to be the jets so we spent another 30 minutes replaceing them. One more time and we made it to the top of Pikes Peak, 14,110 feet.

I parked the car and we got out to go over and look off the edge of the mountain. The sign telling the elevation was down a slight incline from the gravel parking lot and, although there were "No Parking" signs on each side of an opening in the fence where a car could be driven down by the sign there was no sign saying not to drive down there. So, I thought it wouldn't hurt to drive down real quick, take a quick picture, then drive back up in case there was something wrong with it. So, I did. Drove the car down but before I could get out to get a picture the engine died. Sure didn't want to be stuck down there so tried to start it again, and again, and again and it would not. Now the ranger was on his way and we was not happy. And he stayed very unhappy and very noisy and rude for a very long time while I just sat there trying to start the engine that wouldn't start. My two young adult children that were with me and I tried to push the car back up to the parking lot but couldn't. The ranger was going ballistic! I told him I didn't know why it wouldn't start. He said, "It's vapor lock, you fool. You've had it all the way up here. I saw you stopped on the side of the road with it!" He had a pickup truck and I finally said, "You have a pickup truck. Why don't you just hook onto my car and pull me out of here?" "Oh no. I'm not doing that. I'll tell you what I will do. I've got to leave for a few minutes. If you don't have this car out of here by the time I come back I'm going to call a tow truck to come 50 miles from Colorado Springs to pull you out of here on your dime!" and he left.

I got someone else with a truck to pull me out of there and we coasted quite a ways down the road before the engine finally started.

We went along Ok until we got to the bottom of the mountain, traveled quite a ways, then started up another climb. The engine quit. I thought, "Gotta put the bigger jets back in" so, we did and, once again, the engine started right up and went fine until we were within sight of the Eisenhour Tunnel at the top of the pass on I-70 and the engine died again. By then I got to thinking about vapor lock and decided to try an experiment. So, as soon as the engine died I grabbed the water jug out of the trunk and poured half of it one the fuel pump, got back in, and it started right up!

As soon as I got home I installed the electric fuel pump and have used it many times since to solve immediately all of the vapor lock I've had since.

After becoming a believer in vapor lock I thought back to all of the times my engine died and wouldn't start. Old timers would come by, slow down, and inquire, "Vapor Lock?" I'd quickly respond, "No, it's something else." I now know that it was always vapor lock. So many of that exact experience of driving a while, stopping for 5-10 minutes, starting up and driving a block and having the engine die and not start for half an hour.

Of course, there was no need to ever change jets climbing Pike's Peak. But taking the time to do so with the hood up let the pump cool down so it worked fine as soon as we were ready to go again. We drove to the top of Mt Evans (higher than Pike's Peak) last month without ever changing any jets and had not problems at all, other than having to switch on the electric fuel pump.

Prior road trip:

Route 66 in April 2010: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57511

[gearhead1952]

Very cool story. That young man is gonna need a vacation, he worked his butt off.
I live here in Colorado and I think I have only been up there once and it was cloudy with no good views. I should go again but not sure I want to take a flatty.

[Old Henry]

Thanks for the response GearHead. That young man, my youngest of 10 children, began a 1 year project to restore "Old Henry" with me when he was 14. We had a blast and he is now 20 and as good a son as any father would ever want. Does anything asked cheerfully, enthusiastically, and without complaint. We still love working together on projects (other than "Old Henry." He got enough of him.)

[40 Deluxe]

Out of curiosity: What size jets did you install on the way up Pike's Peak? (I posted last year [#9] listing the factory recommended jetting.)
Enjoyed reading your folowup! Am wondering, too, what gear did you use most on the way up? How about coming down? Brakes do OK? Thanks! Allan

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

Out of curiosity: What size jets did you install on the way up Pike's Peak? (I posted last year [#9] listing the factory recommended jetting.)
Enjoyed reading your folowup! Am wondering, too, what gear did you use most on the way up? How about coming down? Brakes do OK? Thanks! Allan

I used those factory recommendations - started with 50's then changed to 48's then finally 46's. I was surprised at what happened when the "jets got too big." I thought maybe it would be a slow loss of power and I'd just keep creeping up but no. It was like I pulled the choke clear out and the engine just choked to death and wouldn't start again. Surprised me.

The road is not really very steep. 2nd and 3rd gear most of the way up and down. Rarely 1st. Rarely used the brakes - used low gears instead.

[JimOH]

Old Henry,
What a great picture story. Thanks for posting. I along with many others really enjoyed reading about and seeing your adventure in pictures. What a wonderful son you have.
JimOH