HRPT Day 2 - Lake Charles to Mobile

We left Lake Charles at 8:30 this morning with plans to stop in Biloxi for BBQ.  The four hour drive passed without any troubles.  The air conditioner is working great and we had it on the entire trip.  We would sometimes reach 195 in slow traffic but otherwise cruised at 180 degrees.  

The passenger side rear tire would make contact with the fender lip in years past when hitting a large bump.  It has not occurred in any of my test driving but has now started happening on the driver side rear.  I suppose the axle shifted to the driver side or is actually centered as I never clearanced the driver side.  It isn't bad and I could pull the lowering blocks if I wanted and get another inch of clearance.  I'll see how things progress before doing anything to it.  At this point, it has happened five times over about 560 miles.

We at BBQ on the back porch of Fat Bottom BBQ overlooking the beach.  It was really good BBQ and a good reward for four solid hours of driving.  I've been driving with Croc's on which made it quite easy to get into the water to my knees for a few minutes.  I then took a picture of the car at a pull off near Beau Rivage.

After eating lunch, we had a one hour drive to the hotel just north of Mobile in Saraland.  Within an hour of arriving, there were really bad thunderstorms and rain.  After the rain, I checked and the passenger side floorboard was socked.  It seemed to be dripping off the AC box but strangely it was the carpet more than the floormat.  I'm not sure what all contributes to it but think the windshield must still be leaking but I can't imagine how.  My cowl cover was in place so it should not be leaking anywhere through that vent behind the hood.

As part of this trip, we are going to work to hit ten states in ten days.  We are three states in so far... Louisiana, Mississippi, and now Alabama.  Tomorrow, we add Florida and Georgia to the list.  We finished the day at 6103 miles.

HRPT Day 1 - Headed to Louisiana

My son and I started our HRPT trip by heading to Lake Charles, Louisiana after work today.  We ended up leaving at about 5:20 with a starting odometer reading of 5506.  We drove roughly an hour and a half before stopping to eat at Five Guys.  The entire time we were under 195 degrees but mostly right at 180 degrees with the A/C on.  The new T-5 is working well and the lower RPM in 5th makes it a little quieter at highway speeds.

We had our first issue with the headlights not working in Beaumont.  I tested the fuses, headlight switch (have a spare), and high beam switch.  I ultimately found it was a problem with the Redline Lumtronix relay setup I purchased to run the headlights off relays to provide straight battery power failed.  I could hear the relays click when turning on the headlights but the high and low beams would not work.  The kit did not require that I cut anything so I was able to find one of the stock sockets and connected it and finished the last hour of the drive with just the one headlight.  

We stopped here to get the headlight repaired.  No one was around and it had some nice lights so I just pulled up between two of the parking blocks as near the front doors, and the light, as possible.

I left the kick panel, sill plate, headlight trim rings, and headlight wiring apart and just finished the drive.  I put to all back together the following morning at the hotel.  I can't connect the driver side headlight as I removed the pigtail that connects from the stock crossmember wiring to the headlight when I installed the kit.  I can make something but don't expect to drive more at night.  I might do that one evening in the hotel.

While stopped, we filled up with gas (9.285) gallons and then finished off the drive.  The car ran find but the roads were horrible from Beaumont on to Lake Charles.  They are all under construction and at points I-10 went down to just one lane.  That wasted some time but we made it to the hotel at about 10:30.  Our final milage for the day was 5738.

Picture from the following morning when leaving the hotel in Lake Charles.

HRPT Pre-Departure Checklist

Pre-Departure Checklist

Check Fluid Levels

- Confirm Oil Exactly at Full Line - Done 

- Check Power Steering Level - Done 

- Check Clutch Reservoir Fluid - Check & Mount

- Check Brake Fluid Levels - Done 

- Check Coolant Level - Done 

- Top Off Gasoline - Done 

Check Lug Nut Torque - Done 80 Ft/Lbs.

Check Tire Air Pressure - Done 32 PSI

Review Tools

- 1/4" Socket Set, Extensions, & Ratchet - Packed

- 3/8" Socket Set, Extensions, & Ratchet - Packed

- Torque Wrench & 1/4" to 3/8" Adapter - Packed  

- Open End and Brake Line Wrench Sets - Packed

- 12 Point Sockets for Intake Bolts - Packed

- Allen Wrench Set for Valve Covers & Master Cylinder - Packed

- Screw Drivers (Phillips & Flat Head) - Packed

- Brake Bleeding Supplies - Packed

- Plyers, Cutters, & Vice Grips - Packed

- Cresent Wrench - Packed

- Crimpers, Strippers, & Crimps - Packed

- Test Light & Multimeter - Packed

- Timing Light - Packed

- Flashlight & Headlamp - Packed

- Jack & Stand - Packed

- Jumper Cables - Packed

- Air Pressure Gauge - Packed

Review Supplies

- Full Extra Gas Can in Trunk - Packed

- Extra Headlight Switch - Packed

- Spare Spark Plugs & Wires - Packed

- Extra Fuel Filter, Hose, & Clamps

- Box of Carb Tuning Parts - Packed

- Glass Cleaner and Towels - Packed

- Work & Rubber Gloves - Packed

- Extra Oil & Filter - Packed

- Extra Brake Fluid - Packed

- Extra Trans Fluid - Packed

- JB Weld & Duct Tape - Packed

- Water Wetter - Packed

- Fuses & Extra Wiring - Packed

- Gallon of Water for Radiator - Packed

- Wood Chock for Wheels - Packed

- Clutch Bleeding Syringe - Packed

- Ear Plugs - Packed

- Ground Pad - Packed

- Zip Ties - Packed

- Extra Belts - AC and PS Only

- Tape Measure and Painters Tape to align windshield decal - Packed

HRPT Pre Departure Thoughts

The Mustang is about as ready as it can possibly be for a trip of this magnitude.  I've worked quite a bit longer and harder than I expected for many weeks to get to this point.  It's had many points of being exceptionally frustrating that have left me feeling that this isn't all worth the effort.  I'm so spent right now, fixing a break down on the side of the road would push me over the edge.  

I've found that I don't really enjoy the process of working on the car as I once did.  I enjoyed taking something old and restoring it to work like new.  I've done much if not all of that with the exception of paint.  What I do more now is evolve things I've already restored and replaced.  When parts that aren't that old fail or fail to do the job, it isn't that enjoyable to replace them again.  At that point, it is less of a restoration and more just work and I already have plenty of work I can be doing.

I've contemplated selling the Mustang for a while now as I don't drive it near as I should.  However, it seems such a shame to sell it after all the hard work and not really getting to enjoy driving it as I thought I would when the restoration is done.  That is part of the reason for the trip.  My son is now 21 and will be moving out and my daughter is not far behind.  When they move out, no one will want to drive around in it with me and the opportunity to do such a trip with someone is largely gone.

I've wanted to do Hot Rod Power Tour for years but the only year it was close was when my mom was dying of cancer so it was not possible.  Rather than wait for it to come back here again, I decided that I need to make this happen if I want it to happen.  Even one year more and it might not be possible.  That prompted me to do all the work I have done.

I'm still rather hesitant to make the trip.  It's a ton of miles.  I don't want us to be miserable due to heat or break down on the side of the road with no life lines.  However, I'd much rather be able to say I restored the car and we drove it across 10 states in 10 days as part of the HRPT so I'm doing it.  I hope it is a great trip that we will remember years from now.

HRPT Prep 30 - More Cooling Capability

When driving back from Houston last week, I was stopped at few lights and found my temperature quickly go to 210 degrees.  I had the A/C on moments before with the temperature at 195 and turned it off as I approached the first light.  Between waiting at two lights, I quickly went to 210 which has me concerned about my cooling capability.  I expect we will often be stuck in traffic much worse than I experienced in Houston.

I'm slowly running out of options with the cooling system.  I have a big block style aluminum Champion radiator but it is only two core due to the thickness and space available.  I now have an aluminum Flow Kooler water pump that is a high volume unit.  I've been running a 10" Spal fan in front of the condenser and a 16" Flex-A-lite with an aluminum shroud which covers the entire back of the radiator.  I use a 180 degree thermostat with the fans all set to come on at 180 degrees.  I have a good overflow tank and are using WaterWetter.  It's all essentially new.

My Flex-A-lite fan is rated at 2,500 CFM but is about all I can fit in the 16" size due to space constraints with the water pump.  After reviewing options, I found a Spal dual 11" fan setup with shroud that will flow 2,720 CFM (Part # 910102052).  The surface area covered by two 11" fans is about 5% below what I have with a single 16" but I have a little more coverage on the sides under the radiator inlet and on the side of the condenser.  These flow a little better so I expect it is a decent trade off.

I trust Spal fans over Flex-A-lite and I think this is about the pinnacle of what can fit in regard to fans.  I hope they pull strongly and work far better.  I'll only know by installing them.  Unfortunately, this changes the setup I've been testing but I think it is worth the risk.

...

The Spal fan setup arrived on Wednesday and I started removing the old fan setup that night.  On Thursday, I started working on a plan to mount the new Spal fan setup.  Unfortunately, it comes without any mounting materials and the section which touches the radiator is not flat.  The sides protrude 5/8" beyond the entire top and bottom lip of the shroud.  This can be seen in the following picture.

I struggled to find a good way to mount it and have a good seal against the radiator.  The only mounting provisions are bolt holes straight through the shroud which in no way line up with the sides of the radiator and wouldn't with almost any car that I could see the shroud fitting.  The best option I found was to take the path of no return which involved cutting the existing shroud and mating the two together.  I left enough shroud on the top and bottom so that those edges would seal together. I then cut the shroud perfectly so the longer sides would slide down into the shroud.  It's a bit hard to describe and I wasn't the best at taking pictures of this project.

I wired up the driver side fan using the existing wiring for the old fan.  I then added a new relay near the battery to control the second fan just to make the install quick.  One relay might be able to run both but I want to have plenty of extra power so I don't blow fuses or have any other trouble on the trip.

These are the best pictures I have since I did not take any during the installation process.