Jack Houpe
GT40s Supporter
John I think he got to LA a couple days ago. But I am interested in hearing his trip too.
Longest distance trip in your 40?
- Thread starter P2164
- Start date
Normally I wouldn’t be driving the car much this time of year because of the snow in northern Idaho. I only take it out in the winter when the roads are dry or when I know there isn’t much chance of ice on the roads. This year we had some snow but then it warmed up and it all but melted away. They have had an unusual lack of snow this year which is the only reason I even thought to take the car. It was mostly the possibility of bad weather that kept me to the Interstates. Last summer I drove to Boise and then to Tahoe over some great roads. This past August I drove to Monterey, L.A. and San Diego. I also did a trip to Seattle to attend a great car show where there were about a dozen GT40's, a Cobra coupe, and a dozen or so Cobra's including the flip top Cobra.
As far as mileage I get around 20mpg.
This trip is mostly to be with my family during Christmas and spend time with my 89 year old mother. She’s sharp as a tack but she is still 89 years young. So getting here was a higher priority than enjoying the journey. Not to say I didn’t because every mile I get to drive the car for me is a gift.
The most exciting moment of the trip came just north of LA near 6 Flags amusement park. I was moving along in the fast lane at about 70 or so when I noticed some blue and red lights about a half mile ahead. At that moment I thought great at least he’s not in back of me and how many more could there be? Well almost as soon as that thought went through my head I looked in the mirror only to see the biggest black and white SUV with lights flashing sitting a few inches off my tail pipes. So what do you do, there were four of five cars to my right before I could move over so I nailed it and the SUV stayed right on my tail. As soon as I moved over he passed me like I was standing still then a third one went by on the shoulder. I was very glad they all had someplace else to be.
I’m not sure how long I’m going to be in Southern California so maybe if it’s late enough in the spring I’ll be able to take a more scenic route home.
The reason I brought the car is I’m working on several projects hoping to make our long journeys more enjoyable.
I hope everyone on the forum gets a have as great a holiday season. Everyone should get out and drive their cars no matter the weather. It makes life that much more enjoyable.
As far as mileage I get around 20mpg.
This trip is mostly to be with my family during Christmas and spend time with my 89 year old mother. She’s sharp as a tack but she is still 89 years young. So getting here was a higher priority than enjoying the journey. Not to say I didn’t because every mile I get to drive the car for me is a gift.
The most exciting moment of the trip came just north of LA near 6 Flags amusement park. I was moving along in the fast lane at about 70 or so when I noticed some blue and red lights about a half mile ahead. At that moment I thought great at least he’s not in back of me and how many more could there be? Well almost as soon as that thought went through my head I looked in the mirror only to see the biggest black and white SUV with lights flashing sitting a few inches off my tail pipes. So what do you do, there were four of five cars to my right before I could move over so I nailed it and the SUV stayed right on my tail. As soon as I moved over he passed me like I was standing still then a third one went by on the shoulder. I was very glad they all had someplace else to be.
I’m not sure how long I’m going to be in Southern California so maybe if it’s late enough in the spring I’ll be able to take a more scenic route home.
The reason I brought the car is I’m working on several projects hoping to make our long journeys more enjoyable.
I hope everyone on the forum gets a have as great a holiday season. Everyone should get out and drive their cars no matter the weather. It makes life that much more enjoyable.
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Jack Houpe
GT40s Supporter
Your a the hero of the day Richard, enjoy your mother, family, and life, good for you!
Jack
Jack
Rich,
By the looks of your route you took 99 which is about 15 minutes from my house in Oakdale. When you head back there's always a place in the garage for your 40 and a warm bed if you need it. Hell stop by and we'll do lunch, on me.
The other Rich.
BTW, if you leave late enough 49 and 88 are great roads to consider.
Rich I may take you up on that depending on how I go back, very nice offer it would be great to meet as many of the escapes from the loony bin while were still out.
John because of the type of car I'm very careful not to speed when I can see another car and sometime when I can't (like Oregon). On my trip to Tahoe 90 seemed like a nice speed but that was when someone else was driving (wink, wink). As long as the gas last I'm sure 120+ would be nice too.
John because of the type of car I'm very careful not to speed when I can see another car and sometime when I can't (like Oregon). On my trip to Tahoe 90 seemed like a nice speed but that was when someone else was driving (wink, wink). As long as the gas last I'm sure 120+ would be nice too.
Richard, what are the projects you are working on to make the long journeys more enjoyable? Sorry to be nosy, but you mentioned this first.
Better water control and door seals. I just need to buy and install the door seals as someone else figured that out. Water on the other hand is the bane of my existence when it comes to the 40.
Just before I left for this trip I pulled the seats and found water in the area just under my butt on both sides (no my butt doesn't cover both sides at the same time). Granted I did drive it in heavy rain for over an hour followed by 5 miles of muddy roads about a month ago. What's strange was there wasn't water behind or in front of those areas. Water can come in at the front of the tub where the radiator and heater lines come out (around the foam) and the hump is just spot welded to the bottom of the car so any water that is in that area can come out anywhere along the length of the center hump (see pictures). However I tried at least to seal that area around the foam.
Then again it could have been there for some time. Anyway when I drove it to Boise through a deluge my right shoe filled with water that came in through the heater. Since then I’ve learned to stuff a plastic bag into the front air scoop anytime I'm going to drive in the rain. I need to design a water trap into the air intake in the front clip.
I’m also working on a replacement for the cable shift which I find lacking. It's all designed and about half built I just need to finish it and install it in the car.
I need to enlarge the water drains I built into the area at the base of the windshield. I teed off the gas drains SPF built into the gas cap area and another pair just to the rear of the caps. I found out the hard way that the gas drains don't work at all and the water drains get clogged with dirt.
There are some others but I’m not sure they’ll get done on this trip.
Just before I left for this trip I pulled the seats and found water in the area just under my butt on both sides (no my butt doesn't cover both sides at the same time). Granted I did drive it in heavy rain for over an hour followed by 5 miles of muddy roads about a month ago. What's strange was there wasn't water behind or in front of those areas. Water can come in at the front of the tub where the radiator and heater lines come out (around the foam) and the hump is just spot welded to the bottom of the car so any water that is in that area can come out anywhere along the length of the center hump (see pictures). However I tried at least to seal that area around the foam.
Then again it could have been there for some time. Anyway when I drove it to Boise through a deluge my right shoe filled with water that came in through the heater. Since then I’ve learned to stuff a plastic bag into the front air scoop anytime I'm going to drive in the rain. I need to design a water trap into the air intake in the front clip.
I’m also working on a replacement for the cable shift which I find lacking. It's all designed and about half built I just need to finish it and install it in the car.
I need to enlarge the water drains I built into the area at the base of the windshield. I teed off the gas drains SPF built into the gas cap area and another pair just to the rear of the caps. I found out the hard way that the gas drains don't work at all and the water drains get clogged with dirt.
There are some others but I’m not sure they’ll get done on this trip.
Attachments
It took me 25hrs. I stopped for dinner in Eugene and slept for a couple of hours in a rest stop near Grants Pass. Oh and about half a dozen times for gas. My speedometer and gas gauge are broken so I get gas every 200 miles or so just to be on the safe side. I plan to fix both before I head north again.
Hey Richard, Half the time I am near Medford, Or. If you stop near there let me know...I'd be glad to meet up with you.
Mike
Mike
You, my friend, are hard core! Great to see you enjoy your car and actually put some miles on it - good for you! :thumbsup:
Dayrl I've been playing with my Hero2 camera and yes it has wind issues. Not sure where I got it but I have a tiny stereo mic with an 8' cord on it I put the camera near the front edge of the roof and taped the cord to the top of the car and hung the mic just over the exhaust tips. The mics not great (as you'll hear) but no wind noise.
I also found a wind guard made for the Hero cameras. Makes it look like it needs a hair cut but as long as it works that's OK.
Micover Stickover for GoPro HD Hero (On-Board) - Stickover
I tried uploading a 8MB .mpg video file and can never make it work. I'll have to upload it to my Picasa web album and post a link.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102800534533700331943/Hero2Test
I also found a wind guard made for the Hero cameras. Makes it look like it needs a hair cut but as long as it works that's OK.
Micover Stickover for GoPro HD Hero (On-Board) - Stickover
I tried uploading a 8MB .mpg video file and can never make it work. I'll have to upload it to my Picasa web album and post a link.
https://picasaweb.google.com/102800534533700331943/Hero2Test
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Jack Houpe
GT40s Supporter
Richard that has great picture quality. If you take all the money I've spent trying to make a good looking picture, I could have bought a couple of hero camera's.
See your still in sunny socal, good for you!
See your still in sunny socal, good for you!
Jack they are amazing. I too spent a lot of money on another setup only to be disappointed. I had to cut the quality down on this video a lot to make it small enough to upload. But then I was trying to upload it to GT40's.com. I'll see if I can upload a hi-def version later today to my Picasas web site.
