has anyone driven a large distance?

[67mopar]

im just curios has anyone driven their car over a thousand miles without any problems?
i rebuilt engine and am anxious to take it on a long trip? crazy?

 

[furious70]

I bought my 70 in 1997 while in college at Iowa state. Needed a car with AC for internship in Dallas.
Did brakes, belts, hoses, front wheel bearings.
Swapped to aluminum slots.
Drove to SW Iowa for Christmas and about lost the front wheel.
Small town JY opened up to help me with new hub.
Made it to Dallas. Needed a new rear axle bearing once there.
Drove between Dallas and Abilene every weekend for 6 months.
Sunk valve in head, towed it home with contents of my apt.
It had 47k on it, I put almost 20k on it in a year.
Been to the Nats, parts of power tour, back and forth to Iowa.
It has 97k on it so I've driven it 50k in 26yrs, but it's come in big chunks along the way.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Long drives are good for engines.

 

[mopar preferred]

Crazy?
Maybe.
How well do you know the car?
Tires good?
Brakes good?
Wheel bearings good?
Brake/fuel lines not rusted ready to leak?
Any parts waiting to fall off?
Have you done some shorter shake down cruises to look for potential issues?
Cars were meant to be driven, it comes down to how confident you are with it's condition.
Old vehicle or new, there's always the potential for a breakdown.
Charge up the cell phone, have an adventure.

 

[surfnturf]

I’ve owned several classic cars over the past three decades. I found that if you drive them a lot before heading out on a long trip, you’ll be able to work out any of the issues ahead of the time. I’ve driven old 67 Bronco from San Francisco Bay Area to Moab Utah and back pulling a camping trailer with no issues. Also drove my 66 Barracuda to Southern California and back in the same day with no issues. I’m planning a cross country road trip for next year in my 66 New Yorker. I’ll do some shorter trips between now and then to build confidence in the car.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Oy, countless times, have you driven your car more than a 1000 miles without issues? Then why would a road trip be any different.

I have purchased 2 different vintage cars over a 1000 miles away and drome them home sight-un-seen.
I can even count the number of trips to Oregon that I have made in my cars (heading out in 2 weeks on another), these trips are over 1000 miles one way.


Alan

 

[Unix]

I’ve owned several classic cars over the past three decades. I found that if you drive them a lot before heading out on a long trip, you’ll be able to work out any of the issues ahead of the time. I’ve driven old 67 Bronco from San Francisco Bay Area to Moab Utah and back pulling a camping trailer with no issues. Also drove my 66 Barracuda to Southern California and back in the same day with no issues. I’m planning a cross country road trip for next year in my 66 New Yorker. I’ll do some shorter trips between now and then to build confidence in the car.

Exactly. Drive them for a few weeks before venturing out further away from home. Then it will be fine.

Also, make sure all the obvious bits are in good order (brakes etc, radiator hoses, belts etc).

 

[detmatt]

Detroit to Boston and the Hudson valley for 2 weeks and back to Detroit was just over 2k miles in total In my ‘67 Imperial.
I’ve taken several long weekend type trips in it and have put 30k miles on it in 13 or so years.

 

[65Port]

I would check everything up and down and make sure that motor is sound before going on a long trip. There's only so much you can do but as long as you have done your due diligence, you *should* be ok..
Always be ready for surprises.. I carry a toolkit with extra ballast resistor, coil, points, plug wires and even a battery.. there's more but I would have to look. And check that spare!

 

[Justin Plant]

The first week I owned my car I put 900 miles on it, the u joints took a dump on me. But, the rest of the car didn't miss a beat. Go for it!

 

[Triple Pickle]

I’ve took trips in some questionable cars over the years. I always take enough disposable cash to turn a breakdown into an inconvenience instead of a disaster.
I’ve also seen many newer cars on the side of the road along the way. It’s hard to be prepared for everything so expect the unexpected!

 

[Big_John]

We used these cars for transportation when they were new... or even when they got to be ratty used cars. We're not talking Model T Fords here... These have mechanicals built for driving 70MPH and taking on anything a modern car can. Granted, not quite as comfortable and they do need more maintenance, but in some ways more reliable and much more repairable than the new cars. I've limped some really bad stuff home that I don't know if I could do the same with a new car.

Drive the car locally for a bit... Even beat on it a little (LOL) and if it's good, toss a few spares and some tools in the trunk and go. I'd also suggest getting a AAA membership in case it needs towing.

 

[surfnturf]

Detroit to Boston and the Hudson valley for 2 weeks and back to Detroit was just over 2k miles in total In my ‘67 Imperial.
I’ve taken several long weekend type trips in it and have put 30k miles on it in 13 or so years.
View attachment 611328

beautiful!

 

[cbarge]

I drive all of my C's and all have been on long trips.
They were built and meant to be driven.
All 3 C's drove 754 miles one way to be at the FCBO show in Volo.
The Newport travelled to Carlisle and then to Washington. Then to Newfoundand.
Did 10k in one year without a hiccup
I always carry tools, spare ignition parts, a 2 ton trolley jack, chock if wood and a breaker bar with a 3/4 socket.
No fancy oils,, so I can top up with whatever is available to keep goIng.
.
In 3 months, Grace racked up over 3000 miles and is due for an oil change!
Ditto Frankie.
All have upgraded electrical systems for reliability.
Just stay on top of maitenance and repairs, and put Jesus on the dashboard!

 

[Samplingman]

I totally expect to drive my car across country and back when I'm done.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I always carry a tool kit on long trips, and because I do, I never need it!

Being a AAA member (CAA in Canada) is another piece of the securiy blanket - I can get tilt load flat bed service up to something stupid like 160 miles to either home or a shop of my choice. For the few times I've used it, the dues are worth every penny.

 

[polara71]

I totally expect to drive my car across country and back when I'm done.

You're planning on being done ?

 

[Samplingman]

You're planning on being done ?

I guess I could drag it out another 20 years and it could be part of my funeral procession.

 

[surfnturf]

When I was a kid, my dad had a 1970 Barracuda. He moved us out to California from Ann Arbor Michigan. After we got to California, he kept the car until he passed it on to me in high school. We traveled everywhere in that car over a decade. It cruised the California interstates at 80 mph all day long with no issues then, can't see why it wouldn't now. That sad part is that I sold it for 1,500 dollars with 160K miles on it when I left for college.

 

[Blusmbl]

Back in June I went on the Sick Summer drag and drive event, I put on about 800 miles on it in a week, driving it from Cordova Illinois, to Byron, to Great Lakes Dragaway, Tri State in Iowa, and then back to Cordova. I made dragstrip passes at 4 of the tracks (Byron was rained out) and it went 11.30's in the quarter on the last day in Cordova.

I also used my old '67 Imperial as daily driver for many years, starting in 1996.

As others mentioned, take it on the freeway for a while, most issues show up pretty quickly. If it's fine using it around town for errands, and fine on a half hour freeway trip, it'll be fine on a long road trip.