Road Test - 2400 Miles in the Z Car

[rossiz]

good to hear she's running well - keep the updates coming

[S30Driver]

Well about time I got to an internet connection...  Arrived in NW Arkansas last Friday at 2 am.

 

Z car ran perfectly all the way, however, the Chrysler pulling the trailer started to have overheating problems last Wednesday.  I think my friend, the other driver pushed it too hard, overheated it and blew the head gasket.  Could only go about 40 miles at a time and then had to let it cool down.

 

Went through very intense tornado weather in Oklahoma City (went thru about 5:30 pm and just missed the tornado & severe half dollar size hail!)

I was looking for an underpass to park the Z under, as I was not going to have it destroyed after surviving for 38 years.  Fortunately we missed the bad stuff by about 1 hour.

 

The Chrysler with the trailer then decided to die when we got off the turnpike heading for Tulsa.  Could not get it going for 4 or 5 hours & spent the night with my car under cover at a closed gas station.  Next day, made it within 120 miles of new home & Chrysler died & would not restart.  Called for rescue from friend with big Dodge 4x4 to pick up trailer & Chrysler was also towed.

 

Last 90 miles was a torrential down pour ( 2 of my tires were getting very worn from the trip & were hydroplaning in the heavy rain)  Also experienced very heavy downpour in Albuquerque when I noticed my front tires were starting to wear & next day rotated the fronts to the back.  Dunlops were getting worn but I wanted to make this last trip on them before I replaced them.  (was regretting that decision in Oklahoma ... alot)

 

Here are a few pix, I am tired from getting the new house settled and just got the internet hooked up today.

 

Looking forward to exploring the area & meeting Zup in Bentonville.

 

All in all, it was a great trip, except for the end, but the trusty Z car made the trip beautifully & was just a joy to drive.  Received many nice comments on the car wherever we stopped.

 

 

Leaving Washington

   Desolate road to vegas                           Vegas

  Gallup NM

 Rt 66 Oklahoma

 Z car fan in Oklahoma

 Finally some hp to pull the darn trailer!

 Future winter storage for Z

 Anti monsoon rain protector for electrical

 Home!

 

 

[rcb280z]

Glad you made it safe. Nice looking house!

 

Damn, gas is only $2.34 a gal in Oklahoma! It's $4.00 here!

[Zup]

Happy to hear you and the Z are safe at your new home Jim!

I sent you a P.M.

Welcome to the whoooooo-Pig-Sooooeeeeee state!

Jim D.

"Zup"

[Captain Obvious]

Haha! That's a great road trip when the "questionable" vehicle does better than the chase vehicle!

 

Glad you made it OK and I hope you enjoy the new digs.

[S30Driver]

Thanks everyone .... yes, the chase vehicle had all the issues, plus 1 new tire along the way.

 

The gas is also ethanol free, the signs say "we have pure gasoline".

[rossiz]

great to hear the story - my riding buddy always says "if nothing goes wrong, it's just a trip - not an adventure"

after fixing flats up in the mountains and pulling bikes out of the weeds more than once, it's nice to have a "trip" every once in a while and hear other peoples adventure stories...

 

glad you made it safe and thank GOD you missed that hail!!

 

i'm wondering why we don't have any more pics of the z car fan in oklahoma???

 

oh, and how long is it gonna take you to hang a carport off the side of that house to shelter the z - or is she parking in the living room and you're in a tent??

[S30Driver]

Ya, the car port addition is a top priority.  The property is big, on the right of the house is another large yard, driveway of sorts, and storage shed.

might build the car port next to the shed.

 

Z car girl kept me entertained while waiting for the rescue truck....  Very nice girl.   Local pastor stopped and invited me to the local car show.

 

Zed's prediction of the desolate Nevada highway 93 to Vegas came true....  at a gas stop on that highway, my friend commented when he gassed up the Chrysler - "hey, first time it took thhe whole 40 bucks in gas"

I was tired and did not catch the significance of that ... until when we passed the dead steer skull on the side of the road with "next gas 151 miles" ... "i'd turn back if I were you"   He didn't quite fill the darn tank!   Ran out of gas 15 miles from the closest gas north of LV.

 

Drove the 30 miles round trip in the Z in record time to get the 2 gallon can filled.  It was warmed up from my 100+ mph run on the Nevada test road ...

Had he put 1 more gallon in it, he would have made it ..... oh well.

[siteunseen]

Congratulations!  You've "bought the farm" but in a good way. 

 

Is that family land or you just got lucky, stocked garage and everything.  Probably some "stump broke" horses around if you get bored. 

[Mark Maras]

Hey Jim

Congrats on a successful trip. I remember the hydroplaning problem. Driving along just fine & all of a sudden the steering wheel goes loose. Had a trip from Enumclaw to Portland one time in those conditions. The s-wheel was loose half the time. It will wear you out. PM me your address so we can get some goodies to you. It's berry season here.

Take care

Mark

[S30Driver]

Hey Site... more luck than anything, but I know the farm owners.  its about 6 miles from my house, in Lincoln.

Will be helping getting the hay in once it stops raining long enough.  Will be trying to swing the barn for winter, has alot of nice stuff, welding, comp air, etc.

Lots of stuff to keep busy in the meantime.

 

Thanks Mark, PM coming ....

 

 

 

Other side of house where I may build car port for the Z, next to the storage shed.

[FastWoman]

Congrats on the trip!  I've always thought the Z is the perfect road trip vehicle.  It's a pretty robust car, as long as you've got everything working to begin with.  Sorry about your misadventures with the truck.