Words of wisdom for first "long" trip

[stouchton]

I wanted to thank you all for your feedback. Lots of good stuff.

Roadster is stock except for turn signals and paint - so very simple electrical to work on.

Planning on driving from the Reading PA area to Wildwood NJ for the fall boardwalk show. I normally trailer the A down or drive the Camaro - just want to take the A on what would be a long trip for me!

I have 2 spare tires, tire iron, jack and air pump - so tires should be ok. The distributor is new from Snyders - but will be taking points and condensor.

For some reason I am concerned about the cam gear - guess I have heard about sudden death with the fiber gear - I never looked to see what I have. Perhaps I am just paranoid??

Wheel bearings were checked and repacked in June, brakes checked, fluids checked, all fittings greased, etc.

So if the weather holds, looks like the roadster will be making the trip. I have a course lined up that is pretty much 45mph or under the whole way, but it will be 3 or 4 hours of running.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[Mike Peters]

Unless I missed it, no one mentioned bringing a spare carburetor on trips. I never leave home without one. Last week in a local parade, the 29 ahead of me quit running, and parade watchers pushed him off to the side and I followed. Spark was right there, so we slapped my spare carb on and he finished the parade. Turns out that his carb was gummed up with dirt, etc. One time on a trip my carb quit because the cap jet had worked loose. That was when I discovered that Model A's don't generate enough vacuum to suck a loose cap jet into the engine. Yikes!! So yeah, spare carb is good.

[H. L. Chauvin]

I missed one of the most important meetings in a life time when my "new" 1974 Pontiac fiber timing gear loss some teeth years ago.

Mr. Dan McEachern's Model A metal timing gear "plus" his "matching" Model A metal crankshaft gear makes for a noiseless Model A "Living Happy" feeling.

On long trips, some Model A owners carry nothing for emergencies; others carry lots of things; however, rather than lose sleep before or during a "long" trip, just face the most often heard Model A facts:

"Whatever Model A item one did NOT bring ..... is usually what breaks." LOL

[Jacksonlll]

If you can take 500 mile trips, you can go anywhere. You just have to build up your confidence in that car. Venture out alone, away from the main body a few times and you will get to the point where you will drive it anywhere .

[Curly]

Originally Posted by KGBnut

Where are you heading? Some of the folks and clubs along your way may offer to lend a hands should you run into trouble.

Ken

I did an 1100 mile trip the end of last summer by myself. In Alaska we each carry a club roster with everyone's name and contact information on it in our cars. I've never had to use it but if I had an issue I know someone would come to the rescue. If I were in the states I'd carry a similar list.
Model A people take care of Model A people.

[wensum]

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I may have missed something here, and perhaps you take it for granted, but a mobile phone and membership to AA plus is essential in New Zealand. Mind you, it seems that if we're going to break down, it's usually in some spot with no phone coverage.
Breakdowns are always a good challenge to one's ingenuity and fault assessment.
(AA Plus gives us free trucking home in the event of an un-repairable fault)

[Ian Curtis]

Hey Scott,

Go for it and have fun! I always like to think if it hasn't gone wrong in 5 miles, it probably won't go wrong in 500.

From personal experience, the only things I've had go wrong on 100+ mile tours are a broken fan belt (can pick one up at NAPA), a blown fuse (always carry a spare!), and a blown taillight bulb (can temporarily replace with a 12v bulb from NAPA). I always seem to have my most severe undiagnosable issues just driving around town...

[Paul Bennett]

AAA card, cell phone and a friendly calm companion.