I've now taken a few long distance trips in Miz B. She hasn't always run very well, but I've enjoyed the ride, none the less.
The first trip of any distance I went on with the little car was up to Saluda, NC. I hadn't had the car but a few months and had had her thoroughly checked out by my local mechanic for her road worthiness. He had given me a good report and I was off to a family reunion. The car did really well until 1 mile from the finish, going up the infamous Saluda Grade, when she overheated! We made it to the reunion, after refilling the radiator a couple of times and hitting less strenuous grades. Coming home, we were within 95 miles of our destination, we decided that the overheating issue was too much and called AAA for a flat bed haul back home. This trip had us putting a new radiator, hoses, and water pump on the car.
We then went to the Upstate of South Carolina with our friends Orville and Sharon Booth for the Railroad Festival. The car did very well until we were on our way home. In a terrific thunderstorm, she decided to overheat, again! We refilled the radiator and made it home without further incident. After speaking with club member Calvin, we decided to take him up on his offer of back flushing the radiator. We decided to put a sieve up to catch the water that was blasted back up through the radiator to see what might come out. We were surprised to see dime size chunks of rust! With that, we decided to buy the Gano filter. The car had sat up, unattended for many years - probably with water in the block which allowed the rust to happen in the block. So, the filter arrived from California and was installed in the upper radiator hose to catch anymore rust particles that could clog up the radiator.
We then went to the Upstate of South Carolina with our friends Orville and Sharon Booth for the Railroad Festival. The car did very well until we were on our way home. In a terrific thunderstorm, she decided to overheat, again! We refilled the radiator and made it home without further incident. After speaking with club member Calvin, we decided to take him up on his offer of back flushing the radiator. We decided to put a sieve up to catch the water that was blasted back up through the radiator to see what might come out. We were surprised to see dime size chunks of rust! With that, we decided to buy the Gano filter. The car had sat up, unattended for many years - probably with water in the block which allowed the rust to happen in the block. So, the filter arrived from California and was installed in the upper radiator hose to catch anymore rust particles that could clog up the radiator.
The next trip of distance was to Mayesville, Georgia and Mike's A Ford-able Grandfather's Day. The car ran superbly! Coming home, we noticed that the car was beginning to run a bit too warm for our comfort level. We had put about 800 miles on it since installing the Gano filter. The next morning, we removed the upper radiator hose with the filter and discovered that it was 90% blocked by rust particles! The filter was doing it's job. So, it was cleaned and reinstalled. That was in June, 2010.
In March, 2011, we travelled with several couples to St. Augustine, Florida for the MARC National Membership Meeting. We logged about 1,200 miles on the little car with that trip. The car was having issues with skipping, but not overheating. The terrain was flat with no real hills to climb. We changed out the carburetor in Jessup, Georgia - in the dark, by flashlight beams! The car ran well in the morning, but began skipping in the afternoon, again! We made it to St. Augustine and the minute the hood was opened, men came out of the woodwork to see if they could solve the problem. We discovered that the polarity was reversed, one spark plug was not working, the timing was reset, a new wire from the distributor to the ignition coil was installed and the carburetor was readjusted. The car seemed to run well in the mornings, but after a few hours, would start skipping intermittently once the engine was really warm. Several more tech sessions in the parking lot of our host hotel ensued and we thought we had it together well enough to drive home. The car ran relatively well coming home, only skipping periodically. About 6 miles from the house, a very loud bang took place under the hood. We were just crossing the dam and decided to coast into the gas station to see what was going on. Upon lifting the hood, it was discovered that the fan belt was shredding! We decided to limp home with the belt still shredding and banging under the hood - it was pitch black dark! The next morning, it was discovered that the alternator had bearing failure, thus causing the fan belt issue. So off it came and a new alternator and belt were installed.
Many more trips were taken within a 75 mile radius around the state with only minimal issues of the engine skipping. We were chalking that up to periodically getting bad gas and didn't think much more of it. The car hadn't overheated in two years, the brakes were new and recently adjusted, and we had had the car to our local mechanic for a complete check up and grease job.
Next, we were headed to Marquette, Michigan and the 2012 MAFCA National Convention. We had a hard four day drive - logging about 380 miles a day, to get there. The little car did pretty well, only skipping periodically and cool on the flats, but with the mountains, she overheated on the last one. We refilled the radiator, let her cool down a bit and continued our day's drive. On the third day of the trip, she was really skipping most of the time. We ruled out a fuel issue; changed out the carburetor, started using 93 octane gas - at $4.20 a gallon, and reset the points - which were nearly closed! Drove about 15 miles further and the car was skipping even worse! We decided to trailer it the rest of the way to Marquette, about 400 miles, where we would have a repair tent and possibly some help. We had ruled out a fuel issue. So, we were thinking it must be electrical in nature. It was decided that the distributor had a bit of play in the shaft, indicating worn bushings. So, we ordered a complete distributor from our parts supplier and it would arrive by Thursday afternoon. The parts arrived on time and were installed. The car ran beautifully! We felt much more comfortable knowing we needed to drive the 1,300 miles back home in another day. All went well on the trip home - until the third day! We were in the mountains, again, and the car decided it was just too hot and overheated. We flushed the radiator and refilled it with plain water and added Water Wetter. The next morning, we drove about 20 miles and she overheated, again. We decided to trailer the car the remaining 200 miles. We arrived home, unloaded the car from the trailer and decided to deal with the overheating issue tomorrow. First thing we checked was the Gano filter - well, it was about 95% clogged with rust particles! No wonder the car overheated, it wasn't getting the water circulated in the radiator fast enough! So, filter cleaned and reinstalled with new upper radiator hose! Problem solved!
The last trip was over to McCormick, SC for the Western Carolina's 50th Anniversary Celebration Tour. The car was running perfectly until a rain storm of biblical proportions happened! Suddenly, the car was skipping - again! So, I knew it was some sort of distributor problem. I had forgotten about the problems cars used to have before electronic ignitions. Distributors tend to "sweat" when it rains from the suddenly cooler moist air. The car finally had enough and just quit! A club member came and got me with his trailer and we left it there over night. The next morning, she cranked right up as if nothing had happened the day before! From now on, WD-40 lightly sprayed in the distributor and on the plugs and plug wires is a preventative maintenance item I will be certain to do every 3-4 months!
After logging over 15,000 miles on the little car in three years, I've discovered that she is very reliable and may not always run the best, but will not really fail me. I really love this little car!
In March, 2011, we travelled with several couples to St. Augustine, Florida for the MARC National Membership Meeting. We logged about 1,200 miles on the little car with that trip. The car was having issues with skipping, but not overheating. The terrain was flat with no real hills to climb. We changed out the carburetor in Jessup, Georgia - in the dark, by flashlight beams! The car ran well in the morning, but began skipping in the afternoon, again! We made it to St. Augustine and the minute the hood was opened, men came out of the woodwork to see if they could solve the problem. We discovered that the polarity was reversed, one spark plug was not working, the timing was reset, a new wire from the distributor to the ignition coil was installed and the carburetor was readjusted. The car seemed to run well in the mornings, but after a few hours, would start skipping intermittently once the engine was really warm. Several more tech sessions in the parking lot of our host hotel ensued and we thought we had it together well enough to drive home. The car ran relatively well coming home, only skipping periodically. About 6 miles from the house, a very loud bang took place under the hood. We were just crossing the dam and decided to coast into the gas station to see what was going on. Upon lifting the hood, it was discovered that the fan belt was shredding! We decided to limp home with the belt still shredding and banging under the hood - it was pitch black dark! The next morning, it was discovered that the alternator had bearing failure, thus causing the fan belt issue. So off it came and a new alternator and belt were installed.
Many more trips were taken within a 75 mile radius around the state with only minimal issues of the engine skipping. We were chalking that up to periodically getting bad gas and didn't think much more of it. The car hadn't overheated in two years, the brakes were new and recently adjusted, and we had had the car to our local mechanic for a complete check up and grease job.
Next, we were headed to Marquette, Michigan and the 2012 MAFCA National Convention. We had a hard four day drive - logging about 380 miles a day, to get there. The little car did pretty well, only skipping periodically and cool on the flats, but with the mountains, she overheated on the last one. We refilled the radiator, let her cool down a bit and continued our day's drive. On the third day of the trip, she was really skipping most of the time. We ruled out a fuel issue; changed out the carburetor, started using 93 octane gas - at $4.20 a gallon, and reset the points - which were nearly closed! Drove about 15 miles further and the car was skipping even worse! We decided to trailer it the rest of the way to Marquette, about 400 miles, where we would have a repair tent and possibly some help. We had ruled out a fuel issue. So, we were thinking it must be electrical in nature. It was decided that the distributor had a bit of play in the shaft, indicating worn bushings. So, we ordered a complete distributor from our parts supplier and it would arrive by Thursday afternoon. The parts arrived on time and were installed. The car ran beautifully! We felt much more comfortable knowing we needed to drive the 1,300 miles back home in another day. All went well on the trip home - until the third day! We were in the mountains, again, and the car decided it was just too hot and overheated. We flushed the radiator and refilled it with plain water and added Water Wetter. The next morning, we drove about 20 miles and she overheated, again. We decided to trailer the car the remaining 200 miles. We arrived home, unloaded the car from the trailer and decided to deal with the overheating issue tomorrow. First thing we checked was the Gano filter - well, it was about 95% clogged with rust particles! No wonder the car overheated, it wasn't getting the water circulated in the radiator fast enough! So, filter cleaned and reinstalled with new upper radiator hose! Problem solved!
The last trip was over to McCormick, SC for the Western Carolina's 50th Anniversary Celebration Tour. The car was running perfectly until a rain storm of biblical proportions happened! Suddenly, the car was skipping - again! So, I knew it was some sort of distributor problem. I had forgotten about the problems cars used to have before electronic ignitions. Distributors tend to "sweat" when it rains from the suddenly cooler moist air. The car finally had enough and just quit! A club member came and got me with his trailer and we left it there over night. The next morning, she cranked right up as if nothing had happened the day before! From now on, WD-40 lightly sprayed in the distributor and on the plugs and plug wires is a preventative maintenance item I will be certain to do every 3-4 months!
After logging over 15,000 miles on the little car in three years, I've discovered that she is very reliable and may not always run the best, but will not really fail me. I really love this little car!
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