Inliners International Forums General Discussion Truck Talk 1940 Chevrolet Coupe Build!

Day One: California to Indiana.

Well, my dad and I left Sonoma around 7:00 am this morning in the Jeep and headed North to an undisclosed part of Nevada to meet Beater. (Not sure if you want you location out there, Beater) After that slight detour, we blasted South towards Vegas. Things were going well until around 4:00 pm this after noon when I went to pass a semi in the Central Nevada high deserts. At that point, the power steering motor (which had been grinding and wining all day from the heat) exploded. It shredded the fan belt which powers all auxiliary functions of the motor; Generator, Water pump, Air Conditioner pump, Fuel Injector pump and of course the Power Steering Pump. The pulley that powers the power steering pump off the fan belt also shot out, nailing the hood and putting a nice ding in it. It then continued down, damaging the oil filter. We pulled over, waited until a cop showed up, (because we had no cell reception) called a tow truck and here we are. Tonopah, Nevada in the "Frontier City Hotel" (Dirty) We have a new power steering motor being over-night shipped to us. Will be here 10:30 tomorrow morning. Then we'll hop in and hot tail it to Indiana. It's always an adventure!

Day Two: California to Indiana.

So this morning we woke up and walked two miles to one of three inhabited business buildings in Tonopah, Nevada. The NAPA Auto Parts. We then bought all kinds of gear to fix the jeep and keep it running through the rest of the trip. Anti-freeze, oil, power steering fluid, oil filter wrench, oil filter, funnel, tray, etc. Then we got to talking about our new power steering pump which would be there in a few hours and realized it does not come with a pulley! They came separately. We had no way to spin the pump! So, we left, scowled around some abandoned lots looking for a Jeep of a similar year to scavenge a pulley from and came up with nothing. Then hauled all our junk from NAPA the two miles back to the lot. Plan B was to find a shorter fan belt and bypass the power steering all together. We were lucky to find one at the Cal-Nevada towing shop where the Jeep was towed and impounded for the night. We put it all together, put our new power steering pump in for the heck of it and hit the road! Driving with the power steering pump disconnected is like trying to drive with the wheels set in concrete. It's tough. We made it another 30 miles until the Jeep started over heating. Bad. So we pulled over, let it cool down, refilled the radiator reservoir and kept going. Another 5 miles and it was puking out all the coolant again. So we stopped, pulled the hood off to improve ventilation and pressed on. Another 3 miles left us puking coolant everywhere again. So, we pulled the thermostat out which regulates the flow of water going from the engine to the radiator. Locked shut. We jerry rigged it so water could get through and to the radiator and plowed on! That got us 10 more miles before it overheated yet again! We stopped, cooled off, refilled and tried one more time. Two more miles and we were out of ideas. We sat there for a while, letting it cool, and when we tried to start the Jeep, it wouldn't fire. We let it sit a little longer, still nothing. Then it started turning over weird like some of the cylinders had no compression, one would fire, and the rest would just spin. We let it sit a little longer, tried again and it didn't budge. The motor was seized. The Jeep was dead.

For the second time in two days we waited for a policeman to drive by (no cell reception) and had him radio for a wrecker. We asked the policeman where we were. 45 miles North of Vegas! We were near something now! We have options! So we got towed to Vegas, dropped off at a motel and the Jeep continued on to yet another impound lot. Then we got back on foot and looked around Las Vegas for used cars or rental cars. We struck out and met up with my cousin who's currently working there and had dinner. (Forgot to mention, that was the first time my dad and I had eaten all day!) My cousin was also nice enough to give us a ride back to the motel. So here I am, looking at E-bay listings for another car; and striking out at that too. It looks like we are going to have to get a rental car, or Uhaul pickup. Either way, we'll make it! Just happy to be in a place where we have options. Whether it's catching a bus, renting a car, or hopping on an airplane. I normally hate populated areas, but in this situation, I couldn't wish for a better spot!

Day Three: California to Indiana.

Today was fairly uneventful. We woke up, rented some big Nissan from Hertz and drove to the impound lot to get the stuff out of the Jeep. It was a Dog the Bounty Hunter- type operation with big toothless, tattooed monsters for employees. After convincing them that we were decent people, actually owned our car (not a bank repo) and weren't going to throw a hissy fit; they let us get our junk out of the Jeep and get going! Before we left, we tried to start the Jeep one last time. It had un-seized, but only sputtered ran for a moment, then died. It was done. Things were knocking inside and only one or two cylinders were getting any compression. I snapped one last photo, tear in eye, of the old Heep before we left it for good. We later arranged for the local "Pick-a-Part" to come pick it up, tow it back to their scrap yard to either be crushed or dis-assembled and sold as parts.

Then we hit the road in our rental. We drove all day. From 11:00am to 12:40 at night. (2:40am local time.) Through the rest of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and half of Texas. We are now in Armarillo, Texas bunked up for the night.

Final Statements: I'm really going to miss that old Jeep. Although it's been a constant struggle keeping it on the road since the day I bought it, it always seemed to start up and pull through when I needed it most. It just rolled over 226,000 miles before it died; unheard of for these models with this engine! For $2,700 bucks on the side of the road, not bad. Not bad at all.

Day Four: California to Indiana.

Another long day. Drive, drive, drive! We drove through the second half of Texas, Oklahoma, had lunch with a close friend, then most of the way through Missouri. We are just shy of St. Louis, MO right now and decided to hang it up for the night. West Lafayette, Indiana is 5 hours away. We'll be there mid-day tomorrow.

The gas prices are awesome!

Day Five: California to Indiana

We made it alive! Sonoma, Ca to West Lafayette, In. 2,423 miles. Five Days! What a trip! We arrived mid-day Saturday and were immediately bombarded by loud music and screaming people. Gotta love the welcoming committees. Could be worse, we could still be in Tonopah! Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that ol' Petey is still kicking and not all shriveled up in the middle of some desert! I hope you guys enjoyed the story, I sure did!