Day 9 on the Power Tour

We made it home. It was a long day after drinking way too many PBRs only getting 2 hour of sleep last night. I'm very relieved that the car made it the whole way. We put about 2400 mile on the car during the trip, more than double the mileage since it was rebuilt. we lost track of how much gas we used. The only problems we had, were minor issues. On the way home we were discussing what upgrade I need to make to the car. At some point it is going to need power steering and possibly some suspension upgrades to deal with 3 fat guys and luggage. We had to take the scenic route home since the interstate was closed due to flooding. I was amazed at the number of Long Haulers. There must have been at least 1000 cars that made the hole trip. I've rambled on enough. This Blog is coming to a close.

The End

Day 8 on the Power Tour

Today was the last day of the power tour. We woke up to beautiful weather. The trip from Rochester to Madison was a little chaotic. We were told that there was no good route to Madison, and that it was up to us to find our own way. We decided on US 14 through Wisconsin. It turned out to be a good route as the interstate was closed. The weather was perfect for the drive. We did see signs of flooding most of the way trough the trip. There were several houses that were under water, but the road was open. The show was about the same as it has been for the last week. I guess I'm getting a little burnt out on cars. We sat through as much of the awards show as we could stand, but we decided a free T-Shirt was not worth our time. We went to dinner at the Sheridan Hotel next to ours and the staff was totally overwhelmed by the crowd. We walked down the street and found a bar with much more accommodating people. We spend the next several hours there drinking too many PBRs until it was time to walk back to the hotel and pass out.

Day 7 on the Power Tour

We survived the storms last night. I may have suffered some alcohol related memory loss, but all I remember is a lot of rain. There was no damage to the car, but the rain gauge on the floor of the back seat indicates that we had about two inches of rain. A towel and some news paper dried up the problem. We skirted the edge of the storm most of the day, but by the time we reached Rochester it was sunny and warm. The town of Jewel, Iowa had a great reception for us. It looked like the whole town was out for the tour. They had every thing from biscuits and gravy to turkey sandwiches for sale. It was great, and so American. Unfortunately we had just finished our continental breakfast at the hotel. We did encounter a snapping turtle on the trip that decided to cross the road at the wrong time. We clipped it hard with the skid plate, but the oil pan was OK. I don't think the turtle fared so well. That could have finished the trip in a hurry. We also encountered some strange rubbing noises from the car with the additional added load of the new passenger. We made a few small repairs , but were unable to fix the problem. We did fix a few things at the hotel. Hopefully it will fix the problem. My good buddy Al has been suffering from a tooth ache for the last few days, but it took a turn for the worst today. He was suffering most of the day. It seem the loud car and the rough roads did not help the problem. When we reached Rochester, Al asked to be dropped off at the first dentist we saw, while Mat and I went on to the show. I think the show was the largest of the trip, but the parking was a little unorganized. It looks like its going to be Emergency Root Canal in the morning for Al, before heading to Madison, WI.

Day 6 on the Power Tour

Today trip from Lincoln to Ames, Iowa consisted of many delays due to road construction and flooding. We spend nearly an hour trying to get thru a one way traffic construction zone. It did provide for some ideal photo ops. There were Hot Rods as far as the eye can see in both directions. After the construction delay we drove to Denison, Iowa. The good people of Denison put together a midday car show sponsored by the local car dealer. They also feed us with tasty BBQ sandwiches. Thanks Denison. Heading on to Ames we had another detour due to flooding. It seem that most of the Midwest is saturated with no end in sight. It must be global warming. I wonder if I can convert the Road runner to a hybred. My co-pilot Al found us some short cuts around the flooding to make it to Ames. In Ames we picked up my brother Mat who took the bus down from Minneapolis to join us on the rest of the tour. The weather held out for the rest of the day. It was very windy, but there was no rain at the show. The facilities in Ames were very nice, and they also had an auto cross coarse setup for those that choose to participate. After eating some tasty pizza, we were enjoying some tasty beers in the parking lot when the temperature suddenly dropped about 20 degrees and it started to ran. Hopefully the hail and tornado's will miss us tonight and tomorrow.





Me waiting in construction delays.

Day 5 on the Power Tour

Today we had great weather for the drive. The road from Topeka to Lincoln Wasn't nearly as scenic, but I think we had more people out to see us than on the other rides. We stopped at Speedy Bill's Speedway Motors before the show to see his automotive museum. The museum is huge and has many vintage race cars and motors to see. It was pretty impressive. There are allot more cars on this trip than I thought. I continue to see cars that I haven't seen yet. We saw a 70 Dodge Convertible similar to the one I am working on for my brother. The car continues to run good. Knock on wood! I think we did have some marginal gas to day. There was a little knocking when I tried to pass another car, and I had to back off a little. I should probably retard the ignition a little. The car would like to be running race gas. The outside door handle on the driver side decided to stop working for some reason, but its no big deal.

Day 4 on the Power Tour

We woke up to rain this morning, and it rained for most of the trip. It was about 20 degrees cool, which was very welcome after the heat wave of the last three days. The trip from Springfield to Topeka ran along several two lane roads that would have been much better if it wasn't raining. We could have used a defroster for some of the trip, but we did OK. The weather did clear up for the last hour of the drive and was beautiful the rest of the day. The car continued to run well. It's probably bad luck to talk about it. The floor in the rear seat was wet this morning from the rain. There must be a leak some were. I will have to look for it when I get home. I did talk to several people who were near us on the drive and they all said the car sounded cool, impressive or scary. One guy best described it as Banging when as I passes another car. I have never heard the car from to out side. It's good to know people like it. The drive from town to town is really pretty cool. It's really cool to see hot rods as far as you can see out both the front and rear. When going through small towns the streets are lined with people to see the traveling car show. Its just like being in a parade. There is nothing like thousands of Hot Rods cruising down the road. We did manage run out of gas today while trying to find our hotel, but luckily for us it was in the gas station across from our hotel.

Day Three on the Power Tour

We had a great drive today from Little Rock to Springfield, MS. We drove on some very hilly and scenic roads trough the Ozarks, and even passed through Branson, but we didn't have time to stop. The weather was still hot, but it was a little more comfortable. We were able to see more of the cars today and visit some of the vendors. The Edelbrock company was nice enough to provide lunch for us. We sat though the prize give-aways at the end of the day, but we didn't win anything. The Give-aways took almost two hours. I'm not sure if I want to sit through them again, but it would be cool to win the Petty Driving Experience. After dinner we drank a few beers and watched cars doing burnout in front of the hotel. The cars in the photos are some of the more unique cars at the show. All the pretty cars can already be seen in the magazines.