Advice for a 20hr trip on a 240Z

[CoastGuardZ]

Anything can happen, and if given the chance it will.

I would say the safest bet is to have it shipped but if you absolutely can't, then at least take it easy. Remember that it's a 30 plus year old mechanical object. Untill you can get near home I would try to avoid the temptation to open her up. 20 hours? Make sure you stay rested and alert. Again 32 year old car and a Z to boot, both of which mean that there will inevitably be exhaust or raw fuel fumes entering the cabin, so take frequent breaks and keep the windows at least cracked if not open.

I'd imagine there are some pretty desolate roads out here so you may want to add a 3 or so gallon can of fuel to your list, because "just how accurate is that gas gauge anyway"

Food for thought... I had a friend with a Geo Storm that broke down in Alabama. Didn't have money to tow it back to South Carolina, so he rented a U-haul and put the car in the back.

Good luck and have a safe trip,

Nate

[Daniel]

Brakes rusted, old coolant and hoses,thermostat and belt, carb gunked from old fuel, battery and terminal need scraping and cleaning at both ends, oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter. Those are what I would check. Instead of carrying raw fuel I would use my tripometer as a fuel gauge. Points,cap,rotor are always a good item. Check to see how much it is to join AAA. Its probably less than a towing bill. Oh the tire rot and spare status. Crack the lugs as a test so you know you can move them before you find out different on the side of the highway. I think it sounds like a great adventure. OH__ A FIRE EXTINGISHER of the class ABC type. Cant wait to read of your journey. Have fun!!

[Zhead]

Thank you guys for all the advice and Zknowledge.

The AAA Towing/Road Service Card i'ts a good idea.

Hey Hed, don't know what's the wire for?

Are the points,cap,rotor easy to find?

Nobody mention antifreeze for me (TEQUILA), just in case the car stops on a winter storm.

I wouldn't miss the chance to drive a Z on an open road.

Will be hearing from me when the trips over, hope next sunday.

[BillD]

A similar question came up on a motocycle list I subscribe to. The list answers were ingenious and creative (as were the ones on this thread), but the show stopper was from one of the ladies.

She related that her emergency kit had four items. She further noted that with this kit she had never had a road side emergency she couldn't handle. Her emergency kit items consisted of: A tube of lipstick, a credit card, a cell phone, and a 9mm hand gun.

[sblake01]

Originally posted by Alfadog

Depends if you've done it before or not Enrique! ROFL

ROFL ROFL

[240ZX]

BillD, That sounds like a smart woman!

[peterc]

Good luck on the trip, sounds like it will be a blast.

Great advise from everyone here. Check out as much as you can before you leave (hoses, tires etc.) and replace only what you really need to (definitely change anti-freeze and oil and brake fluid). And making sure you can loosen/remove the wheel lugs will save you a lot of frustration if you have to change tires on the road.

Definitely the most important is the AAA card or something similar. A tow any distance would chew through that $300 pretty fast. And better add a cell phone to the list, the AAA card is no good if you can't call them .

The only suggestion during the trip would be to take things easy. The faster you drive the harder and hotter it is on all components. More likely something will break, and if something does break, it'll be all that much harder to keep the car under control. (this from a guy that wound up in a race (155km/h) driving home an '83Zx that had sat in a field for 6 years) :stupid: .

Cheers,

Peter

[Ed]

Originally posted by Zhead

Hey Hed, don't know what's the wire for?

Ahh yes the wire. You can use it if your on the road at night and you find out some electrical item doesn't work. Or you find out some wires are fried and you can jump it with your wire and you can also use that wire to tie things up so they don't drag on the road like the exhaust.

Basically it's like everything else mentioned, it's all just in case. If your in the middle of nowhere someplace between Las Vegas and Las Cruzes and something happens atleast your prepared and able to get back on the road.

Personally I think that your going to have a great uneventful trip. Just you, your new Z, and the joy of cruizing down the open road.

[EScanlon]

Alfa:

Sounds like the voice of experience talking!

Enrique

[Marty Rogan]

Hey ZHead,

It's been a while. Have you completed the trip? We want to hear a detailed acounting on how it went!

Marty

[Zhead]

I did it! I made it! I'm a proud Zowner once again!

My departure was from Reno 6:30pm Sat, feb 21 and my arrival to El Paso was 9:30pm Sunday, feb 22.

No pain no gain! it's true

It was a long trip.

First I jump at a plane at 6:00am in El Paso, then make a 1hr stop in Denver, and finaly arrive to Sacramento at 11:30am.

That was a piece of cake.

Then the Greyhound (Greyturtle) trip, 3 1/2 hrs to get to Reno, I went crazy in that bus, this was an uphill trip the wheather went from bad to worse, rain then snow, oh my god what am I doing here, those were my toughts at that time.

Then I finaly arrive to the sellers house, about 5:30pm, I only check the oil levels, brake liquid, tire pressure, lights and that was it. Jump into the car and drove it.

All it was smood untill I pump some gas, it was a gas spill. F...k

Can only put obout 10 buck at each stop. O.K. no big deal

Then a cold and windy night came and the car was starting to lose power at the middle of a lonley road, oh no, what next. It breaks down at midnight at lonely indian gas station, I have to buy the most expensive battery that I may ever buy $90 buck's?!#$%%^%$( not to mention 2.50 gal of gas)

Change the battery, put some gas and continue the trip. this town was before Hawtorne.

Then I have to stop for a 3 hour nap and there I go again, to Vegas. There the car breaks down again, no problem have some tools and daylight. There I found out that the alternator belt was loose,so I fixed and hit the road to Kingman, Phonex, Tucson, Lordsburg, Las Cruces and EL PASO TX.

At El Paso the alternator belt was again loose, not only that, the bottom screws were beheaded. the reason was that I didn't know there were 2 screws, at the botton of the alternator, so I was only tightening one and the other was losse all the way.

So I have to pull out the mount from the block and take those scews out.

I only have the gas leaking problem right now. I will have to pull down the tank and take a look.

The trip was finaly over, I got my Z.

[Ed]

Glad to hear that it wasn't too bad. Is that your new car in your Avatar? Enjoy!