After 10 years of storage, pulling out the 65 for a 3500 mile road trip!

[lunarweasel]

Yes, it's in his message. And he said he replaced the thermostat several times as well.

[DRAGPAK428]

Here is my short list:

1) Fuel System

a) new fuel pump and filer,new tank rebuilt carb

2) Ignition System

a) new plugs ,points, cap,rotor,wires


3) Charging System

a) check alt output,all lights, Install a new battery

4) Cooling System

a) pressure test/flush cooling system check all belts and hoses(new waterpump may be cheap insurance)

5) Exhaust System

a) check for anything which might break loose on a long trip

6) Brake System/Suspension

a) make sure brakes are solid and not low or leaking,squeaking, If you go through the mountains you'll be glad you did.

b) check all suspension parts especially steering components/pack front bearings

c) tires,tires tires..spare/jack


Miscellaneous:

1 Let someone know your planned route
2 cell phone
3 tools/maybe spare belts/couple jugs of a/f
4 large flashlight/extra batteries
5 extra clothes

REMEMBER ITS BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT...THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT...HAVE A BLAST!

[trialsguy]

Where you at vintageblueoval you get the problem figured out? are you on the road again?

[DRAGPAK428]

Well you drove 60 miles without a problem, so its time to stop replacing parts.

Sounds like a head gasket is allowing combustion gasses into the cooling system creating an air block, old car very simple cooling system.

new waterpump radiator,t-stat,fan good idea checking the spring on hose.

your at the point where you are second guessing yourself, take a breath and take time diagnosing the problem. I wish I was near you I would be out to give you a hand. good luck

[VintageBlueOval]

Hey all,

So Im back home in Atlanta, finally! That old 65 fought me every step of the way, and it still has a LONG way to go. I got the cooling problem fixed last week in California. I had to pull the heads and found several of the water passages completely clogged in the heads. I pulled the freeze plugs and blasted out those passages with the hose. It seemed like a few pounds of junk came out of there! Once it was all back together after a 13 hour thrash, the car ran fine, nice and cool.

I drove it to Vegas, over the Cajon Pass with no issues. Then it was on to the Grand Canyon on Friday morning. Once I arrived in Winslow, AZ the car started running rough and missing at idle. I quickly suspected it was vaccum related and was correct when I found the vaccuum advance in the distributor not working. The closest place I could find a replacement distributor in stock was an Autozone in Flagstaff so we pressed on to the Canyon and took her easy on the way to Flagstaff. Grand Canyon was AWESOME by the way! The car started missing pretty badly on the grade up to Flagstaff but kept on running. Once we were off the highway, it stalled on the way into the Autozone parking lot and we coasted into a parking space. I grabbed the new single point distributor, installed it in about 5 minutes and it fired right up. I adjusted the timing and she ran great!

Now it was back on the road, hoping for Albuquerque before gettting a good nights sleep. The car was running better than ever, all the way through Gallup, NM. As we approached Grants, NM I started to hear a light ticking. It was only happening at steady cruising speed and my mind first thought of a misadjusted valve. It quickly got louder over the course of 5 or so miles. I pulled off at the next exit. Completely forgetting my engine is a 77 302, I pulled the valve cover, expecting to find a valve that needed adjusting. No such luck. The metallic particles in the engine oil was pretty telling about the real cause. I figured I would try to get into town at Grants, NM so I got back on the highway for that 5 or so mile stretch, hoping to find a motel or something for the night (it was about 11pm and 20 something degrees out)

3 miles down the road came the clatter and knock of a bottom end coming apart. I coasted off the next offramp and into a nowheresville gas station and thats where my old Mustangs road trip ended.

A 2am tow truck ride into Albuquerque was next (115 miles away). We caught a ride to the airport, rented a Kia Rio and limped the Mustang into the Park & Ride lot for airport travelers. We finished the trip back to Atlanta in that little Rio. At least it got 38 MPG.

Now I gotta get back to Albuquerque and get my car. It looks like I'm gonna take my F150 and flat-bed trailer out there this weekend and pick it up. I'll get my camera downloaded and share some action shots of the repairs and the first legs of the trip. I should have them up in the next couple days. I'll also keep updating the thread as I get the engine apart (again) to see what really happened.

So that definitely sucked. But it was still a good time, albeit an expensive one! I have no idea what caused that bottom end to come apart, the engine has a legitimate 45,000 original miles. Anyway, not a huge deal to repair or replace it. I just wasn't gonna go for it on my back in a Motel 6 parking lot when its 30 degrees out.

I'd still do it over again!

Ted

[crustycurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by VintageBlueOval

I'd still do it over again!

Ted

He's got the sickness!

Glad to hear you made it home, though.

Frank

[lunarweasel]

Wow, what a story. I guess they say nothing in life that's worth doin' is easy.

[retrovanishpt]

Man you have what it takes You must have a big set of those chrome spherical things hanging from the hitch on your 150

[superthornbird]

wow, that is something.

[OCHOHILL]

I was hoping for a happy ending. I would thought of a dozen other things going wrong before the bottom end going out.

I like your attitude, though.

[sixteenpushrods]

You know maybe 45,000 was just all she wrote on the '77 small block. After all, I bet they didn't drug test in the engine factory back then and there was a little of that [drug use] going around.

[02Lightning]

That sounded like a good time, too bad the car didn’t make it. You won’t soon forget that trip.

[VintageBlueOval]

Here are some pictures from the day I pulled it out of the barn. It hadn't moved in 5 years, hasn't been driven since early 2000. Funny, all the things I had worried about... brakes, suspension, carb, electrical stuff... all worked perfectly. Who'da guessed?

[VintageBlueOval]

Here's a few from my first few miles on the road... before the overheating started.

[VintageBlueOval]

Here she is with the heads off and this is a cool shot from the South rim of the Grand Canyon. If any of you are thinking about a Grand Canyon visit, do it! Spectacular!!