Hot Rod Homepage

So the staff here at HotrodHomepage is getting ready to leave for the 2004 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour. We plan on doing the whole trip, plus the 1500 mile drive to Texas and the 2000 mile drive home. This should be quite and experience. We look forward to meeting with other hotrodders and having a good time. If possible we will be updating the site from the road, but if not look for a review of the entire event when we get back.

Our Tour Day 1 - June 2nd
8:53pm Wed June 2nd - Indeo, California - 122 miles

Stopped for our first gas fill in Indeo, California. So far we have managed to travel about 170 miles on 11 gallons of gas. Not bad, but I think that the odometer is not really working correctly. The new gas gauge sender that I installed last week makes the gas gauge move, but not in the intended manner. Good thing the odometer works. We will take it easy for the next few gas stops until we can figure out the range per tank that we can safely travel. The car is in tip top shape so far, but with the 3.73 gears we are only able to go about 55-60 miles per hour. Hopefully this 40 year old car won’t let us down.

It’s early, I’m optimistic.

11:08pm Wed June 2nd - Quartzine, Arizona - 241 miles

We are now in Quartzine Arizona. Since about Blythe California it has been hotter then anyone should have to deal with. Fortunately it is nighttime, otherwise I am sure that this portion of the drive would be unbearable. Right next to the gas station was some sort of used car lot that was filled with jewels. Classics pilled 6 rows deep. A couple of 60’s c-10s, 60 Buick Skylark, 67 Chevelle, 59 Impalla. Unfortunately it was late and the lot was fenced in so we were not able to get out and spend much time browsing for treasure.

Classics looking for a good home

Miles of Treasure

1:56am Thurs June 3rd - Phoenix, Arizona - 401 miles

Still Driving. We are just outside Phoenix, about 90 miles from Tucson. The lawn chairs in the truck have managed to shift in such a way as to jam the key mechanism. The engine could use about half a quart of oil, but with no access to the trunk it will have to wait till the next stop. Jesse is managing to get significantly more miles to the gallon then me, but I have always been a bit of a lead foot. Got to remember to adjust the headlamps. Since I lowered the front of the car they are projecting onto the ground only about 25 feet in front of the car. The gas gauge still does not work, but we have been keeping records of our gas consumption and using the odometer and now have pretty good ability to estimate our range between stops. The laptop has definitely come in handy.

2am in Casa Grande, not much happening

Updating the trip logs and calculating mpg and range

2:42am Thurs June 3rd - Tucson, Arizona - ??? miles

Rolling down the road I started to think about a few things that would be nice on future road trips. I don’t think they are necessary as things are going quite well so far, but Jesse is driving and I’m a little bored so here it is.

vacuum gauge	increase mileage by trying to maintain the highest vacuum reading.
gps unit	navigation and location, other information like elevation and average miles per hour
cb radio	the road can get a little boring, some entertainment would be nice
correct odometer	maps and the computer work, but a working odometer would be nice.
working gas gauge	might help us to not get stranded, but so far so good.
weather strip	a windshield that doesn’t leak would be nice.

Jesse getting the maximum mpg

5:07am Thurs June 3rd - Wilcox, Arizona - 567 miles

Remember that problem with the trunk. I guess it is a good thing that we didn’t have time to weld in the rear firewall yet. After attempting to shift the chairs our of the way using the brakes it became obvious that we needed to take more hands on action. I pulled the seat out and snaked my way into the trunk (sorry no pictures of my contortionist act) and moved the the seats out of the way. Fortunately it worked and the trunk now opens. The problem with the latch stems from the incorrect bar between the key mechanism and the latch mechanism. It is too long and got caught up in the chairs. I bent the bar up out of the way and hopefully it will not get caught again.

6:15am Thurs June 3rd - Border, New Mexico - ??? miles

Just crossed the border into New Mexico, the sun is now up and it is light outside. Hopefully we will be able to make it to El Paso. Here is a picture of the sun peaking over the hills. Car is humming like a bird, good times.

Beautiful sunrise, this is going to be a good day.

The right front of the car started to make a strange noise as we encountered a grade just past the Arizona, New Mexico border. The noise only lasted for a few seconds, but we pulled off the road to take a closer look. A quick check of the cellular phone showed that we have no signal. Of course, technology will not be able to save us here, our wits and our wrenches are all that we have. To add a little bit of spice to our stop we managed to come to rest just shy of a gigantic dookie. This should be good.

Sunrise? This has to be a bad omen.

A quick survey of the oil, tires, transmission fluid, control arms showed no evidence of a problem, but a breakdown here would not be a good thing so the search continues. We figured that it could possibly be a problem with one of the rockers so after letting the car cool for a while we pulled of the valve cover on the passenger side.

We are so screwed.

Maybe we lost a rocker.

Nope, they all look good.

Closer inspection showed that the valvetrain is in top form so the search continues. The previous owned had some trouble with throwing belts so he came up with a belt tensioner made from an old skateboard wheel. I checked it out and it seemed to have a little play that could have caused the unidentified noises so I tightened it down. Not completely satisfied that we had found the problem we continued on.

Yep, even after I pointed it out for the picture.

9:00am Thurs June 3rd - Deming, New Mexico - 701 miles

We pulled into the Best Western off exit 81 in New Mexico. The little roadside adventure burned up some time and tired us out. Looks like El Paso will have to wait for tomorrow. We managed to drive for 14 hours last night, but now is time to sleep. It is rather hot outside today so sleeping through the heat and getting back on the road around 6pm should put us on a good pace for Ft. Worth.

Nice, the trunk still works.

Beautiful, but really hot.

Our Tour Day 2 - June 3rd
7:06pm Thurs June 3rd - Deming, New Mexico - 701 miles

Checked the tires, oil, filled up on gas and hit the road. Some sleep and some food we are ready to attack Texas. Short and sweet, we got to get going.

9:30pm Thurs June 3rd - El Paso, Texas - 812 miles

10:20pm Thurs June 3rd - Mile Marker 81, Texas - ??? miles

1:30am Fri June 4th - Somewhere in West Texas - 962 miles

At least we are in the middle of nowhere.

Yep, no lights at this gas station.

Sometime between 1:30 and 4:00 we hit the 1000 mile mark.

No looking back now.

4:00am Fri June 4th - Still in Texas - 1107 miles

That just may be the wolf from earlier.

What you don’t see in this pic is the rifles used to decorate the pump island.

5:00am Fri June 4th - Will Texas ever end? - ??? miles

Yep that truck is passing us, as they all do.

7:00am Fri June 4th - Who knows, Texas is no longer fun - 1259 miles

Well the gas gauge now works, but I don’t like what it has to say.

9:00am Fri June 4th - Wetherford, Texas - 1381 miles

Texas, the gift that keeps on giving.

9:40am Fri June 4th - Ft. Worth, Texas - 1421 miles

We have finally made it to our destination, but their is something wrong with the car. At this point we are beat so it will have to wait. We check in to a hotel and get a few hours of sleep.

Our Tour Day 3 - June 4th

After spilling gas all over the parking lot and ourselves we managed to get the car running well again. We figured that we got some bad gas at our last stop before Ft. Worth as our mpg went down to about 2 on the last 40 miles before reaching the motel. So after two days of driving all night and a little drama in the parking lot we turned in to get some rest for tomorrows car show. The car has made it this far. hopefully will continue to run well.

Houston, we have a problem, or is that Ft. Worth?

Intense cell conversation, parts on the grass, not all is well in Mudville.

At least I have a milkshake.

What you can’t see is the gallon of gas that spilled everywhere. Note the fire extinguisher.

We have made it to the Power Tour.

After Nearly 1500 miles of driving the "long haul" begins.

Bring it on, we’re game.

Our Tour Day 4 - June 5th
Power Tour Day One - The Park at Arlington, Texas

There is a special magic when a group of people come together to share their enthusiasm for something that they are passionate about. Hotrodding is not about making museum pieces to be view for afar, it is about sharing information and experiences with others who find enjoyment in building things that literally move them. We snapped hundreds of pictures today and met dozens of people from all around the country who enjoy the same sorts of things we do in Southern California, and many who have unique and interesting takes on what makes car their own vision of a hotrod.

Since we have so many pictures, we need to work out a better scheme to share them all with you, but here are a few highlights.

Yep, Texas is hot, but the humidity is what really gets you.

Sport Compact Car eat your heart out.

No, really.

Ladies, must be nice.

Floor it? I can’t floor it, there be no floor.

Ending the day with a small dog.

Our Tour Day 5 - June 6th
Power Tour Day Two - Tulsa, Oklahoma

Today was a little bit rough. This was the first time that we really did any driving during the mid day heat, and it was no fun at all. No insulation on the roof, black paint, and 80% humidity we were hurting badly.

We stopped for lunch about half way and the food was good, and everyone was full of energy, but by the time we reached the destination, the day was starting to take its toll.

El Mule, which stands to, The Mule. Built by Mark Stielo and covered in Popular Hot Rodding.

About half way between lunch and our final destination, on the days third gas stop, we could not get the car to start again. Ryan, an Oklahoma resident, and fellow Power Tour Participant lent us a hand and helped us get on the road again. The charge wire on the back of the alternator had come loose and was not charging the battery, a few turns of the wrench and a jump and we were back on the road. We actually cruised with Ryan for the rest of the day. A big thanks for all the help.

Things don’t look good for our courageous duo.

Car failure is a great way to meet new people.

The event today was held at some sort of large golden building, I am not sure what it’s purpose is, but it will not soon be forgotten. The line to get into the event was about a mile long and took about an hour to get through, this is what really made today hard. Hopefully tomorrow’s event will go a little bit smoother.

I am not sure what it is, but it is big and gold.

Possibly the coolest camper on earth.

Look for more pictures of this truck in the hotrods section.

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A real street racer.

All business, this one is a runner.

Rats, he’s at it again.

Ending the day once again with a small dog.

Our Tour Day 6 - June 7th
Power Tour Day Three - Springfield, MO

It has been another exciting day on the road. We had the good fortune today of not having a single mechanical problem. We broke away from the designated route of the tour to make better time getting to the next event. We got to Tulsa so late last night that we did not want to have another day like that.

Time to hit the road, Jack, or Jesse rather.

We broke away from the rest of the group in a rural area somewhere in Oklahoma. Not completely sure how to get back to the interstate we knew there might be risks, but we decided to take a chance. If you have ever read the book Hatchet then you can understand our fears. If we break down, there will be no help.

Not many places to stop for help on this route.

About the only building that we saw. Hide the window sticker.

With our atlas in hand we managed to get to the interstate after making more then 4 and less then 6 u-turns. Our little detour took us on a section of Historic Route 66.

Civilization at last.

We were not the only ones to use the interstate to make good time.

Once we got back on the interstate were made good time until we came upon some road construction. Apparently the crew that places the signs and cones made it to work today, but there was no sign of the crew working on the road. At least it was not nearly as hot as it has been for the last several days.

Traffic jams are universal, not just in Los Angeles.

We have been building bridges to fellow Hotrodders all across America.

That is the most choices I have ever seen.

Make your own shade, nice.

Barry Grant himself gave me some mileage tuning tips.

Everyone is really helpful. These guys just finished a water pump swap.

Wonder if this guy is into hotrods?

Jack Sparrow in his later years.

Yes, one more small dog to end the day.

Our Tour Day 7 - June 8th
Day Four - St. Louis, MO

Another exciting day on the tour. Today we decided to us the interstate 44 as opposed to following the tour route. The downside of this is that we will not be getting free lunch. The upside is that we will only have to stop for gas 3 time as opposed to 5. I am pretty sure we are completely insane to be doing this as each day takes us further from home. On the other hand the people that we have met and the times that we are having are well worth the work behind the wheel.

 

Man that car is following close. Wait, it’s on our trailer. Yeah we wish.

After what seems an eternity we reach St. Louis.

Our friends from Oklahoma beat us to the show.

Time to get back home.

A chevelle done for the TLC show Overhaulin’.

We only stayed at the show for a short while as this event also had a drag racing portion. I was quite excited to see if the fellows with the station wagon had made the trip to St. Louis so I walked from the car show to the drag strip. I was rewarded for my efforts as John and Jason from Texas had made the trip.

The worlds faster st Fairmont.

A stripped wheel stud needs to be replaced.

This method soon proved ineffective.

Man is separated from beast by his ability to fashion tools.

This "tool" made the job much easier.

Stud fixed time to get ready to race.

This is a fast station wagon, really fast.

For a 90+ degree day with matching humidity, that is incredible.

Go that fast, especially in a wagon and you are bound to draw a crowd.

This dog pictures seems somehow different from the others. Not sure why, but it does.

So we left the speedway to begin our search for a place to spend the night. So far we have had good fortune with simply finding a place to sleep at the end of the day, but today things are quite different. While we were at the St. Louis show someone pointed out that we had a nail sticking in our tire. We decided that the tire seemed to be holding air and that we were going to keep driving on it and take action if something went wrong. Well with all the attention that we were paying the tire we neglected to check if the car had gas in it. To make a very long and painful story shot, there was about enough gas to get us stranded somewhere in St. Louis away from and major freeways, and too far from any gas station to push the car. After waiting an hour for AAA we decided that it was time to get back to Los Angeles. 11:30 pm Tuesday June 8th we turned around to head home.

Well after staying and watching drag racing for a while disaster strikes.

Home Sweet Home

On our Trip we used over 350 gallons of Premium gasoline at an average cost of $2.20 per gallon to travel just over 4000 miles. Our crusing speed was around 63 miles per hour. We averaged about 11.5 mpg.